Past Hauntings
by ToastWeaselofDOOM
Summary: AU. Franken Stein has everything. A wonderful wife, a house, and a respectable job. But this could all change when a mistake he made fifteen years ago comes back to haunt him. ON HIATUS.
1. Chapter 1

**Title: **Past Hauntings

**Rating: **T

**By: **ToastWeaselofDOOM

**Summary: **AU. Franken Stein has everything. A wonderful wife, a house, and a respectable job. But this could all change when a mistake he made fifteen years ago comes back to haunt him.

**Disclaimer: **ToastWeaselofDOOM does not own Soul Eater and never will. Okubo-sensei does. This is her first and last disclaimer for this particular story.

**Warning:** As this is an AU, character's might be a tad OOC in order to fit into society and general living. I've tried to fit their abilities into the story best as I could, but there is alays a few people who freak over these things, so I warn you now. I repeated, _CHARACTERS MIGHT BE A BIT OOC_. This also contains a bunch of my favourite pairings including (but not limited to) SteinMarie, SteinMedusa, SoulMaka, MarieSteinMedusa, etc etc, as well as it is not currently being betad as my beta is out of town without her laptop/interwebs access.

If you have a problem with one or more of these pairings, or with it the characters being OOC, or with it not being beta'd, I'm implore you, DO NOT FLAME ME IF YOU CONTINUE ON AND READ THIS. It will have been your fault for not reading my warnings and A/N before you read. Thank you! ^^

**A/N:** This is the Soul Eater AU I've been working on for a while. I'll try updating as regularly as I can, but my watchers know me and how sporadic my posting schedule can be. I hope you enjoy it!

THIS CHAPTER HAS BEEN BETA'D. KTHXBAI.

* * *

"Franken. Franken. It's seven-thirty, time to get up."

Franken Stein stirred and draped a palm arm across his closed eyes. "A little longer, Marie . . ."

"I let you sleep longer then usual," Stein's wife said gently, laying a hand on her husband's shoulder. "Now, get up or you'll be late for work."

"It's acceptable if the director is late once and a while," Stein murmured, eyes still firmly closed.

"_Because _you're the director makes it even more unacceptable," Marie said sternly. "Get up, Franken. _Now._"

Stein noted the danger tones in his wife's voice and opened his olive-green eyes to peer warily from under his arm. "Alright, alright, I'm up."

Marie nodded, approval visible in the golden eye not hidden by her eye-patch. "Good, now stay that way. I'll have coffee ready for you when you're up."

"Thanks, Marie." His wife smiled and left the room. Stein sat up, rubbing his shoulder before running a hand through his platinum silver hair. He swung his feet onto the wooden floor, barely noticing the chilly surface.

He retrieving a clean pair of clothes from his dresser that included one of his patchwork white-and-black shirts and black slacks, he crossed the hall to the bathroom. After a quick shower and dress, he ambled down the hallway and into the kitchen, from whence wafted the heavenly aroma of his favorite coffee.

"G'morning, Marie," the man said, pouring himself a cup of the black caffeinated beverage and taking a large gulp of it.

"Good morning, Franken!" Marie chirped in her slightly accented voice, reminder of the years she had spent in Oceania.

Stein let his eyes wander over his wife's slender frame. Her golden hair, which usually flowed free, was pulled back in a loose ponytail at the nape of her neck. She wore a v-neck, long sleeved black shirt and her customary floor length black skirt with a yellow zigzag down the middle. A plain silver chain rested on her breastbone, and her one visible eye was bright. Stein dully noted she wasn't wearing the heeled boots she usually wore to bump her height up several inches.

"Why the ponytail, Marie?" Stein asked, taking another gulp of his coffee.

"I'm trying something new," Marie responded, elevating herself on her toes to give him a kiss.

Stein nodded. "You look nice. By the way, have you seen my glasses?"

"Did you look on the bathroom counter?" Marie asked. "I believe you took them off when you took a shower last night and forgot to put them back on."

Stein turned and went back to the bathroom. Sure enough, his glasses were resting on the counter. He picked them up and put them on, blinking as his eyes adjusted.

The man caught his reflection in the bathroom mirror and sighed. As much as he said he didn't mind it, sometimes the scar that ran from the middle of his forehead, under his eye, and down his cheek to right behind his ear _bothered_ him. It was a stitched line that reminded him of things he'd rather forget. Shaking his head, he rid his mind of the thoughts and left the bathroom, turning off the light as he went.

"Did you find your glasses?" Marie asked as she hurried around the kitchen, obviously distressed.

"I did," Stein affirmed. "What are _you_ looking for, Marie?"

"My bag," said Marie helplessly, checking in the adjoining room for the wayward item. "Have you seen it?"

"You were grading papers in the den last night," Stein supplied. "Did you leave it down there?"

Marie brightened. "That's where I left it! Thank you, Franken!" She gave him a quick kiss then hurried downstairs to the basement den.

Stein smiled slightly at his wife's behavior then moved through the room and out onto the patio, where he took a cigarette from the box on the outside table and lit up. He inhaled deeply, letting the smoke swirl around his lungs, and felt the nicotine enter his bloodstream, easing his tensions with each breath.

"Franken!" said Marie's reproachful voice from the doorway.

"What?" Stein asked, turning to his wife with the cigarette dangling from his lips. "I'm outside, aren't I?"

"You know that's bad for you!" Marie said exasperatedly. "As a doctor, you should be setting a better example."

Stein sighed and took a final drag on his cigarette before snuffing it out in the ashtray. He went through this argument with his wife daily. She loved him, but the one thing she couldn't stand was his smoking.

"Hey, I don't drink excessively like sempai," he said in his own defense.

"Spirit _quit_ his alcoholism," Marie said, giving her husband a stern look. "I'm sure you could quit smoking if you wanted."

"Ah, and therein lies the problem," Stein said. "I could quit if _I wanted_. The key word being 'want.' I don't have any motivation or inclination to quit, so I won't."

Marie sighed but rose up on her toes to give him a kiss. "You're a fool, but I love you anyway."

Stein smiled and kissed her back. "Same."

"You'd better get going," Marie said, glancing at the clock. "You'll be late if you don't hurry."

Stein took a quick look at his watch. Eight-thirty. "Ah, time stops for no man." The two walked to the front doorway where Stein slipped on his white shoes and took his lab coat, which was stitched together whimsically as a pun on his name and scars, from the hook.

"I'll see you when I get home, then?" Stein asked, pulling his labcoat onto his shoulders.

Marie nodded and handed him a thermos of coffee. "Yes. I'm not staying after school for anything today, so I should be able to come home straight away."

Stein took his coffee, grinning slightly. "Good. Have fun teaching those holy terrors you like to call 'students.'"

"Franken!" Marie admonished, putting her hands on her hips. "They are _not _that bad!"

"Says you." Stein shrugged and took his car keys from the rack. "You aren't the one stitching them up after they've landed themselves in the hospital five times in as many days."

"That's just Black Star," Marie sighed, "you know that. Don't pin it on the rest of them."

"I know," Stein agreed, "but after stitching that little idiot up for the hundredth time after listening to him shout about how he 'is more godly because he beat so-and-so,' you tend to be a little biased."

Marie smiled slightly and laughed. "I suppose you have a point."

"Of course I do," Stein grinned.

"Have a good day," Marie said, giving him a hug.

"You too." Stein leaned down and caught her lips in a kiss.

Marie broke it after a moment, grimacing. "You taste like tobacco," she complained.

Stein laughed and took a swig of his coffee. "I love you, too." He kissed her again. "I'm off."

"'Bye," Marie called as he walked down the path to his car. "Be back in time for dinner!"

"I'll try." Stein opened the car door, grimacing as the hot air escaped from the car that had been baking in the hot Nevada sun. He got in, closed the door, and after a few moments, the car roared to life. He backed out of the driveway and drove down the street in the direction of the hospital.

* * *

"Aaah, the symmetry! It's so wonderful!" Death the Kid cried as he stood in front of Death City's local high school, Shibusen High. "Father _does_ know how to design a place!" He burst into tears of joy and the passersby stared.

"Dude, calm down," said a voice. "Making a public spectacle of yourself is _not_ cool."

"Quiet, Evans!" Death the Kid snapped, wheeling on the white-haired teenager. "What would you know?! You're asymmetrical!"

"So're you," the boy pointed out. "You and those uncool stripes in your hair."

Kid dropped to his knees, sobbing this time not in joy but in despair. "Damn you, Evans, damn you!" he cursed, beating a fist into the ground. "Die . . . dammit . . . depressed . . ." Without another word he curled up in a ball and began to rock back and forth, weeping.

The teenager sweatdropped and was just about to head into the school when a loud voice called, "SSSSSSOOOOOORRRRRUUUUUUUUUU!" The white-haired teen quickly stepped to the right and a black-and-electric-blue blur streaked by exactly where he had been standing seconds before.

"Hey, Black*Star."

"Yosh!" Black*Star exclaimed, turning on a dime and rushing back to where his friend was standing. "SOUL, HOW ARE YOU BEST FRIE—Woah, what happened to Kid?"

"I told him he was asymmetrical," Soul said with a shrug.

"I think you broke him, Soul," a new voice quipped sardonically.

"Oi, Liz, Patti." Soul went over to the two girls and completed a complex handshake with the taller of the two. "'Sup?"

"Nothing much," the taller one, Liz, said, twirling her long light brown hair on her forefinger. She went over to where her younger sister, the blonde Patti, was poking the still-weeping Kid, giggling insanely.

"C'mon, Kid, stop being immature and get up. You're hair is perfectly fine. Think symmetrical things. Think Shibusen and your house and equilateral triangles." Liz started to list off symmetrical items. "Think circles and squares and how the number eight is even better than the other numbers because it's bisymmetrical."

Kid looked up, eyes rimmed with red. "You're right!" Kid said rather loudly. "Eight is the best number of them all! So symmetrical!" He stood, straightening his jacket and making sure the white blocks were still aligned perfectly.

"Now that that's resolved," he said, as if the whole occurrence hadn't happened, "there is a matter to be addressed. Soul, where's Maka?"

Soul, who was fiddling with his cloth headband, shrugged. "I dunno. I swung by her apartment when I was leaving, like usual, but she said she had something to do, and she would catch up. She never showed."

Death the Kid was about to speak when an Asian-looking girl who had jet-black hair up in a long ponytail jogged up, breathing heavily.

"B-Black*Star!" she panted. "I told you to slow down!"

Black Star scratched the back of his spiky blue head. "Oh. Sorry about that, Tsubaki."

The girl smiled slightly. "That's okay. Where's Maka?"

"That's what we were just trying to figure out," said Soul.

"Well, wherever she is," Kid said distractedly, glancing over his shoulder, "we can't worry about that now."

"WHAT?!" Black*Star screeched. "Maka's our friend, you asymetri—" Black*Star was cut off by Patti karate-chopping him in the head.

"Marie-sensei is here," Death the Kid hissed, pointing at the approaching teacher. "We should continue this conversation later." His fellow students nodded and grew silent as Marie walked past.

"Good morning, everyone!" Marie said cheerfully. "How is everyone today?"

"Good," the six students chimed in unison.

"Wonderful," Marie said, smiling. Her smile faltered, however, when she realized one of her students was missing. "Where's Maka?"

"Sick," Soul grunted instantly. "She decided to stay home today."

"Really, now?" Marie asked, raising an eyebrow. "Well, I hope she feels better! I will see you all in class!" The teacher smiled again and proceeded into the school building.

"She didn't believe us," Kid stated matter-of-factly the second Marie was out of earshot.

"How d'ya know?" Black*Star asked, looking skeptical at best of Kid's theory.

"Because I do." Kid turned without another word and strode inside.

"Wait up, Kid!" Black*Star yelped, scrambling after him. "Tell me so I can surpass God!"

Patti giggled and both Liz and Tsubaki sweatdropped before following the two boys inside. Soul shoved his hands into his jacket pockets, scowling heavily.

'Where are you, you flat-chested idiot?' he inwardly growled. 'You disappearing is _not_ cool.' Heaving a sigh, he ambled into the school after his friends.

* * *

**A/N: **So, how was it? I hope I didn't do too badly!!! Stein's a bit OOC, but I did try my best, and I think he HAS to bit a bit OOC for this relationship/plot to work. I do hope you stick around and continue to read it! I will hopefully update this soon! Thank you! ^^

-Love, Toasty

P.S. I love Black*Star. He's such a spazz! XD And Kid is... fun to torture. :D


	2. Chapter 2

**Title: **Past Hauntings

**Rating: **T

**By: **ToastWeaselofDOOM

**Summary: **AU. Franken Stein has everything. A wonderful wife, a house, and a respectable job. But this could all change when a mistake he made fifteen years ago comes back to haunt him.

**Warning:** As this is an AU, character's might be a tad OOC in order to fit into society and general living. I've tried to fit their abilities into the story best as I could, but there is alays a few people who freak over these things, so I warn you now. I repeated, _CHARACTERS MIGHT BE A BIT OOC_. This also contains a bunch of my favourite pairings including (but not limited to) SteinMarie, SteinMedusa, SoulMaka, MarieSteinMedusa, etc etc. My beta is very busy and can't beta everything on time all the time, so sometimes chapters will be published unbeta'd.

If you have a problem with one or more of these pairings, or with it the characters being OOC, or with it not being beta'd, I'm implore you, DO NOT FLAME ME IF YOU CONTINUE ON AND READ THIS. It will have been your fault for not reading my warnings and A/N before you read. Thank you! ^^

**A/N:** This chapter was. . . interesting to write, to say the least. ^^ I'm _obviously_ not a SteinMarie/SoulMaka shipper, oh no, not at _all_. *heavy sarcasm plz* . . . Yeah, enjoy~! ^^

THIS CHAPTER HAS BEEN BETA'D. KTHXBAI.

* * *

Chapter 2

Stein pushed back from his desk, spinning a few times in his swivel chair. There had been a sudden massive influx of paperwork over the last few hours, and he had just managed to finish it all.

"Eurgh," Stein groaned, reaching for his almost-empty coffee mug and draining the final swills. "I'd rather perform brain surgery than do that again."

There was laughter by the door, and Stein turned to see a green-eyed woman with grey-blond hair standing in the doorway. Stein eyes widened with recognition.

"Kami?" he asked. "Kami Albarn?"

The woman frowned. "I divorced Spirit months ago. It's no longer 'Albarn.'"

"My apologies," Stein said, standing and walking to the woman. "I had forgotten you two weren't married any longer. Spirit doesn't drop by as often as he used to, so I don't get to hear very much news."

"Its fine," Kami said, waving it off. "Honest mistake. So you're the head honcho around here, huh?"

Stein nodded. "I was promoted a few years back. Wouldn't expect you to know, seeing as you were off in San Francisco."

Kami had the grace to blush. "Yes, well. . . do you have room for another staff member?"

"We might," Stein allowed, understanding what she was getting at. "Shall we talk about this over lunch?"

Kami smiled. "Sure. Where?" Stein stepped from his office and closed the door before leading Kami down the hospital halls.

"There's a corner bistro next to the hospital," Stein told her as they walked. "It has good food, great coffee, and is close by so if I'm needed I won't be far."

"Don't you mean if _we're_ needed?" Kami asked.

Stein allowed himself a small smile and entered the deserted elevator, holding the door for his companion. "Perhaps. I don't know why you've come all the way back to Death City to get a job at the hospital, however."

"I was transferred," Kami said promptly as the machine began its descent. "I had a choice between Death City and some place out in Illinois. You can tell what I chose."

Stein nodded as they exited the elevator and weaved through the bustling lobby. "Closer to your daughter."

"Exactly."

The two continued walking until they had exited the hospital and reached in front of the bistro. Stein held the door for Kami once more and they walked up to the counter to place their orders.

"I guess I can understand your want to be closer to your daughter," Stein said as he opened his wallet and pulled out enough cash to pay for the both of them. "Do you have a place to stay?"

Kami nodded. "Yes, I'm living in an apartment near the hospital. It has enough room for Maka and me to live comfortably, and she can continue to go to school at Shibusen. I get her on weekends and every other week now that I live closer."

Stein smiled slightly as they found a booth and sat down. "Good, good. Although losing Maka every other week might drive Spirit over the edge."

Kami laughed. "Yes, it might. Can I ask you something?"

"Sure," Stein said. "What is it?"

"Is it true you and Marie got married?" Kami asked quietly. "I heard rumors, but nothing confirmed."

Stein held up the hand that bore his wedding ring. "I don't wear this just for show, you know. Yes we did; about a year or so ago."

"And I wasn't invited?!" Kami asked indignantly.

Stein grinned sheepishly. "We couldn't get anyone to tell us your new address. Especially not Spirit. He was so heartbroken that he couldn't think straight."

Kami blushed again. "Oh, I'm sorry. I really did up and leave after we got divorced."

"It's fine, it's fine," Stein said, waving it off. "Just drop by the house sometime and visit. Marie would be delighted."

"Marie still teaching then?" Kami asked.

"Yes," Stein sighed. "How she manages to teach those holy terrors is beyond me. She teaches your daughter, actually."

"Oh? Do tell." Kami asked.

"Yes, she teaches your daughter along with a bunch of her friends," Stein said, pausing as a waiter brought their food to their table. "You'll be seeing some of Maka's friends in the hospital frequently."

Kami thanked the waiter but frowned when she turned to Stein. "Maka is friends with a delinquent?"

"You could say that," Stein allowed, before picking up a triangle of his sandwich and taking a bite. He swallowed then said, "Black*Star is just a kid who gets into fights a lot because he wants to, and I quote, 'Surpass God.' He shouldn't have a negative effect on Maka."

Kami nodded and twirled her fettuccini alfredo around her fork. "I see. . . I will talk to Maka about this."

"You do that." Stein looked over his sandwich triangle at her. "Maybe she can stop him from getting into so many fights. To be honest, I'm sick of patching him up."

Kami laughed. "Maybe." She picked up her fork, which was laden with twirled-up pasta, and took a bite. "Mmm! This is really good!"

"That's why I brought you here," Stein said with a grin. "The food is excellent. It's become a favorite place to eat for a lot of the hospital staff, and because it's so close, we can go out to eat without worrying about being paged."

Kami nodded and ate another forkful of pasta. They turned their attention to their food, but continued to talk. The two doctors had just finished eating when the shop door rang. An Asian-looking woman with black hair that framed her face and square-framework glasses walked in and looked around. She spotted them and strode over.

"Azusa!!" Kami exclaimed as the woman drew nearer. "Long time no see!"

The woman's eyes widened. "Kami? What are you doing here?"

"Eating lunch with Stein," the blonde-haired woman replied.

Azusa turned to Stein. "What are you doing away from your job?"

Stein took a long draught of his coffee in response. "I could ask the same of you, Yumi. Why are you here instead of at Shibusen?"

"I was called by _your_ hospital regarding a missing student of mine," Azusa replied, touching her glasses so the lenses flashed. "Your daughter, Kami."

"What?!" Kami exclaimed, leaping up. "Why?!" Just then, Stein's cell phone rang. Stein took it out of its case and flipped it open.

"Yes, what is it?" He paused as he listened to the person on the other end. "Yes . . . I see . . . Why wasn't I informed first? . . . Right . . . We'll talk later. I know. Goodbye." The doctor shut his phone with a snap and put it in his lab coat pocket.

"Come on, you two," he instructed, standing and heading off towards the café door. "We're needed at the hospital."

Azusa and Kami exchanged glances before hurrying after him.

* * *

The minute Soul stepped into the lunchroom, he whipped out his cell phone and texted Maka.

'_Where r u M?'_

He waited several minutes for a reply, and when none came, he texted it twice more. When nothing happened, he decided to go for broke.

"Guys!" he hissed to his friends, "Cover me! I'm gonna try to call Maka!" Everyone nodded and crowded around him as he dialed the number and held the phone to his ear. It rang five times before it cut over to an answering machine.

'Hi, you've reached Maka Albarn! I can't answer the phone right now, so if you leave your name and number, I'll try and get back as soon as possible! Thanks!' There was a beep and Soul hurriedly spoke.

"Maka, you flat-chested idiot, where the hell are you?!" he hissed into the microphone of his cell phone. "The rest of us are worried sick about you! Give me a call as_ soon_ as you get this mess—"

"Evans!"

"Shit!" Soul slammed his phone closed and shoved it in his jacket pocket.

Sid, the PE teacher and coach of the basketball team, was striding across the lunchroom towards them. "Did you have your phone out?"

Soul nodded slowly. "Yes, sir."

"Give it to me," Sid said, holding out his hand.

Soul reached into his pocket and drew out his phone. He handed it to the gym teacher, who took it and opened it.

"Who were you calling?" Sid asked.

"Maka."

Sid paused then gave Soul something resembling a pitying glance. "I see." He snapped the phone closed and handed it to the white-haired teenager. "Here."

Soul fumbled blindly for the phone. "W-What?"

"I'm giving you it back because that's the kinda man I am," Sid told him. "Don't let me see it out again." The teacher turned heel and sauntered away, cornrows swaying.

". . . Did he just let you off the hook?" Liz asked, sitting down at the lunch table now that the danger was passed.

Soul smiled slightly. "Yeah, I guess he did. Cool." He shoved his phone back into his jacket pocket.

"I don't think he did it just for the reason he gave," Kid told them. "Didn't you see that look he gave you?"

"Look?" Tsubaki queried.

"Yes, look," Kid stated matter-of-factly. "Right before he gave you your phone back. It looked like one of pity. Something's up, and all the teachers know about it, too."

"I hope Maka's okay," Tsubaki said quietly.

"We can just hope for the best now," Soul said. "Which is totally not cool."

"Maka'll be okay!" Black*Star shouted rather loudly. "This god said she will, so she will!" Patti giggled insanely and Liz sighed.

Soul worried.

* * *

**A/N 2:** So, how was it? I hope I didn't do too badly!!! Since we obviously don't know what Kami looks like/what she is personality wise, I kinda made her a carbon-copy of her daughter, because it's stated in the series a couple of times that Maka is very like her mother in her habits and looks (if I remember correctly).

...No, I am NOT writing this KamixStein. Get that thought out of your head RIGHT NOW. I'm a full SteinxMarie/KamixSpirit shipper through and through, and I wouldn't ever write Kami with Stein, as she's basically an OC... ^^; And I really hate when people put OC's in the plot and pair them with canon characters. . . I'm the one who wrote CAC, meaning I can't really talk, BUT THAT WAS A LONG TIME AGO, OKAY?! . . . I don't do that anymore.

_ANYWAY, _like I've said before, Stein's a bit OOC, but I did try my best, and I think he HAS to bit a bit OOC for the relationship/plot to work in the story.. I do hope you stick around and continue to read it! I will hopefully update this soon! Thank you! ^^

-Love, Toasty


	3. Chapter 3

**Title: **Past Hauntings

**Rating: **T

**By: **ToastWeaselofDOOM

**Summary: **AU. Franken Stein has everything. A wonderful wife, a house, and a respectable job. But this could all change when a mistake he made fifteen years ago comes back to haunt him.

**Warning:** As this is an AU, character's might be a tad OOC in order to fit into society and general living. I've tried to fit their abilities into the story best as I could, but there is always a few people who freak over these things, so I warn you now. I repeated, _CHARACTERS MIGHT BE A BIT OOC_. This also contains a bunch of my favourite pairings including (but not limited to) SteinMarie, SteinMedusa, SoulMaka, MarieSteinMedusa, etc etc. My beta(s) is very busy and can't beta everything on time all the time, so sometimes chapters will be published unbeta'd.

If you have a problem with one or more of these pairings, or with it the characters being OOC, or with it not being beta'd, I'm implore you, DO NOT FLAME ME IF YOU CONTINUE ON AND READ THIS. It will have been your fault for not reading my warnings and A/N before you read. Thank you! ^^

**A/N:** This chapter was. . . interesting to write. I'm _obviously_ not a SteinMarie/SoulMaka/crack SteinMaka shipper, oh no, not at _all_. *heavy sarcasm plz* . . . hmmm... Oh yeah, Azusa and Kami are buckets of fun to write, oh yes, oh yes, oh yes~. And Stein. God, you sadistic man, you. I LOVE YOU AND HATE YOU AT THE SAME TIME. But mostly it's love~!

**THIS CHAPTER HAS BEEN BETA'D **by ~ (Kit) and ~Makio-Kuta (Momma). Thanks a ton, you guys!

* * *

Chapter 3

Stein swept into the hospital, Azusa and Kami trailing behind him.

"Stein-hakase," the orderly said in a rush, "the two girls came in about ten minutes ago. One of them is semi-conscious, and is upstairs. The other, the one who brought the semi-conscious one here, identified herself as Maka Albarn."

Stein heard Kami gasp loudly from behind him and nodded. "I see. The semi-conscious girl's condition?"

"Stable." The attendant handed him a clipboard. "Here's the info we have so far."

"Just her gender?" Stein asked in disbelief, flipping through the pages hurriedly. "Nothing else? Nothing at all?"

"No, sir," the attendant muttered, shaking his head. "Her prints aren't in the database, and we can't ask her any questions."

Stein sighed heavily. "Alright then, fine. Where is this Maka?"

"We're questioning her right now," the attendant said quickly.

"That's not what I asked," Stein growled. "I asked where she was."

The attendant gulped. "E-Examining Room Three, sir. Would you like to see her?"

The director nodded. "Yes, I would. As the other girl is stable, there is no reason for me to examine her immediately. Kami, Azusa, follow me please."

The silver-haired man strode off, once again forcing Kami and to hurry after him and leaving a rather confused and _very_ relieved orderly in his wake.

Stein pushed the door of the waiting room open and stepped in. "Alright, that's enough. I'll take it from here." The orderlies who were asking the girl questions nodded and left; Kami pushed past Stein to embrace her daughter.

"Maka!"

"M-Mom?!" Maka gasped, surprised by the sight of her mother along with the hug. "What are you doing here?!"

"I got transferred to Death City Hospital," Kami hurriedly explained. "You can come and live with me now!"

"I don't have to live with Papa anymore?!" Maka asked excitedly, green eyes widening.

"Every other week," her mother told her. "He still has custody over you, too."

Maka drooped considerably. "Oh, okay . . ."

"I hate to break this _touching_ family reunion," Stein drawled sarcastically, "but she _is_ my patient, Kami, and I have questions to ask."

Oh, sorry, Franken!" Kami exclaimed, moving so Stein could have access to her daughter.

Stein stepped forward and immediately started questioning her. "You are Maka Albarn, correct?"

The girl rolled her emerald eyes. "Obviously."

"Age?" Stein asked, cutting off Kami's reprimand of her daughter's attitude.

"Fifteen."

"Birthday?"

"May fifth."

"Grade and school."

"Sophomore at Shibusen High School."

"Any allergies?"

"I'm slightly allergic to black licorice and cats."

Stein nodded, recording all of this on his clipboard. "All seems to be in order, Miss Albarn. Did someone check you over when you arrived?"

". . . No?"

The director sighed. His attendants were idiots. "Alright then, I'll just do a basic check-up to make sure nothing's wrong, and I need to ask you a few more questions, okay?"

The sophomore nodded. "Alright."

Good girl." Stein took a stethoscope from his lab coat pocket and put it on. "Take a few deep breathes for me, please." Maka complied and Stein slide the stethoscope up the back of her shirt for a better listen. The teenager shuddered as the cold metal touched her flesh, causing the Stein's face to curl into a slight sadistic smirk. He did his best to hide this and continued on. After a few more tests, he passed her.

"Now," the doctor said, stowing his penlight in his pocket, hanging the stethoscope around his neck, and pulling the wheelie chair from the desk in the room before sitting in it. "Tell me what happened."

"I was walking to school this morning," Maka began, "by myself because I was late and had told my friend I usually walk with to go ahead. I decided to take a shortcut because I was cutting it close and didn't want to get in trouble. I cut through an alley and saw the girl laying on the ground, unconscious.

"I tried to wake her up, but I couldn't, so I picked her up and carried her here and that's it." Maka shrugged and took a deep breath. "Do you know if she's okay?"

Stein ignored her question. "Did you say you carried her from near your school to here?" he asked skeptically. "That's rather far."

"I'm stronger than I look!" Maka snapped defensively. "Besides, she wasn't very heavy! Do you know if she's okay?"

Stein sighed and made a note on his clipboard. "Persistent, aren't you? She's fine, as far as I know, just semi-conscious at the moment. I haven't been to see her yet, so that's all I know. Does that answer your question?"

Before Maka could reply, a ringtone blared. The teenager dug in the pocket of her skirt and pulled out her cell phone. "Who the hell is calling me—oh . . ." Her voice petered off as she read the caller ID.

"Soul."

". . .Eater Evans?" Azusa asked sharply, speaking for the first time since she'd entered the hospital.

Maka nodded. "Yes, ma'am."

"I will talk to him about this," Azusa grumbled as the ringtone died. "It is still within school hours, and therefore a breach of school rules and policy."

"Give him a break, Yumi," Kami said disapprovingly. "He's worried about a friend who practically disappeared off the face of the Earth. You'd break school rules to try and find them, too."

The director of the hospital sighed and stood. "I'll leave you ladies to deal with your separate issues. I have work to do. Thank you, Miss Albarn, for being a good samaratin. We need more people like you in the world." He smiled—if you could call it a smile—then pushed open the door to the examining room and left.

* * *

Maka waited for her mother and principal to leave, then flipped her phone open. The first thing she got was a text from Soul.

'_Where r u M?' _

The girl quickly tapped out her reply. '_Hsptl.' _She hit the send button and closed her phone.

She hoped Soul hadn't done anything stupid.

* * *

Soul could barley concentrate as Marie-sensei demonstrated the proper way to mix cake batter. The only thing he could think about was Maka.

Where was she? How was she doing? Was she okay? These questions and a thousand others ran through his head, making it decidedly difficult to focus.

The teenager nearly screamed when his phone vibrated in his pocket. He checked to make sure his home economics teacher wasn't watching, then slid it open. It was a text.

From Maka.

He quickly opened the file and read the single word reply.

'_Hsptl.'_

The boy's red eyes grew wide. The hospital? What on earth was she doing there? He needed to know. He needed to know _now_.

He slipped the phone into his pocket and thrust his hand into the air. "Marie-sensei, can I use the restroom?"

Marie looked from where she was pouring the cake-mix into a pan. "Sure. Just fill out a pass and get my signature."

Soul hurried over to his teacher's desk and found the passes. He tore one off and scrawled on it the time, his name, and his destination. He took it to Marie, who wiped her hands on her apron and signed the pass without a second glance. The sophomore slipped out the door and headed towards the restroom. Once inside, he smirked and slid away the pass Marie had signed to reveal a second one.

He filled the second one in to read: "Soul Eater Evans, to car to retrieve bag, 12:00 PM." Then the white-haired teenager ever-so-carefully traced over the indent from Marie's previous signature. His smirk widened as he slid the old pass into his pocket and took the forged one with him as he went outside, striding down the hallways and outside.

He didn't care if he was suspended, or even expelled for forging a teacher's signature and hall pass. He needed answers, the school day still had three remaining periods, and he wasn't going to wait.

Soul made his way carefully to Marie's car, passed it, and—once he was out of eyesight of the school—started running. He made sure to correct his direction to head along the main road which would lead to the city. "Maka, here I come!"

* * *

**A/N:** So yeah. Chapter 3. Chapter 4 should be here. . . soon. Whenever Makio/Kit get it sent to me. If you haven't checked them out, do so, especially Makio-Momma and her epic Soul Eater AU _Trauma Center_, which is WAY more awesome then Past Hauntings . . . And it's beta'd by yours truly. ;) SO GO, GO READ TRAUMA CENTER NOW. OR ELSE.

But please grace me with a review first, alright?

-Love, Toasty

**P.S.** SteinxMaka....might be present, if in small, miniscule quantities, just to flip out my Maka, who loves SteinxMaka to pieces. XDDD Props if you get what Maka's allergic to and what they corelate to in the actual series.


	4. Chapter 4

**By: **ToastWeaselofDOOM

**Summary: **AU. Franken Stein has everything. A wonderful wife, a house, and a respectable job. But this could all change when a mistake he made fifteen years ago comes back to haunt him.

**Warning:** As this is an AU, character's might be a tad OOC in order to fit into society and general living. I've tried to fit their abilities into the story best as I could, but there is always a few people who freak over these things, so I warn you now. I repeated, _CHARACTERS MIGHT BE A BIT OOC_. This also contains a bunch of my favourite pairings including (but not limited to) SteinMarie, SteinMedusa, SoulMaka, MarieSteinMedusa, etc etc. My beta(s) are very busy and can't beta everything on time all the time, so sometimes chapters will be published unbeta'd.

If you have a problem with one or more of these pairings, or with it the characters being OOC, or with it not being beta'd, I'm implore you, DO NOT FLAME ME IF YOU CONTINUE ON AND READ THIS. It will have been your fault for not reading my warnings and A/N before you read. Thank you! ^^

**A/N:** ...I think everyone's main question so far in this story will be answered here. . . and many more will be formed. :3 MWAHAHAHAHAHA!! Enjoy, puppies~!

**THIS CHAPTER WAS BETA'D **by ~Makio-Kuta and ~Desert(dot)Moon. Thanks a ton, you guys!!

* * *

Chapter 4

Stein tapped gently on the door of Room Five then pushed the door open. It was a single-bed room, with the curtains pulled around the bed. The doctor pulled the curtains open and observed the girl in the bed.

The first thing he noticed was that she was pale; next he noticed her thin arms and thin face. Her hair was a pink-lavender color that seemed to have been cut by an unprofessional hand, leaving ragged bangs and uneven chunks everywhere. The girl looked familiar, but for the life of him Stein couldn't remember where he'd seen her before.

'So this is the mysterious girl, hm?' Stein thought to himself as he got down to business. He took his patient's hand and went to check her pulse. His light green eyes widened as he saw the scars the covered her wrists.

'A cutter, eh?' he thought as he counted pulse beats. 'I wonder what caused her to do such a thing.' Some of the cuts seemed newer than others; and above them, on her fore and upper arms, were splotchy black, purple, and yellow bruises.

Stein frowned at them and made a mental note to investigate further. He checked her vitals, and was pleased to see that her pupils contracted when exposed to the light from his penlight. He leaned over to check her breathing when I strong hand wrapped around his throat and began to squeeze.

"What the fuck do ya think yer doing, asshole?!" the girl he was examining snarled in a voice that was decidedly _not _female. "This body belong to me goddamit, and me alone, bastard!"

Stein could barely react before a foot was planted on his chest and he was sent flying through the curtains and into the opposite wall. He hit hard, and it was all me could do not to black out. The girl was strong alright, but there was something that wasn't right about it. He had hardly staggered to his feet before the girl was upon him, hand around his neck.

"Because of what you tried to do, you will pay with your death!" the masculine voice snarled, squeezing harder with each word. Suddenly, the pressure stopped and released.

"N-No! Chrona, what're ya doing, you bitch?! Let me kill 'im, let me—" The male voice was cut off by a loud, high-pitched scream and the girl sank to her knees, clutching at her head.

Stein acted quickly, pinning the girl against the floor before she could do more damage to either him or herself. Doctor or not, she had just tried to kill him, and he wasn't about to go through that experience again. The girl was limp for a minute, then snapped straight.

"Eeeee, Mister, you're heavy!" she complained in a soft feminine voice. "You're on my back; I don't know how to deal with this!"

Stein's eyes widened and he quickly let her go. "My apologies," he told her, holding out a hand to help her. "A safety precaution."

The girl looked at his hand in confusion. Instead of taking it, she looked down at her pale arm. "Uwaaa, it's bleeding! I don't know how to deal with blood!"

Stein glanced at her arm and noticed the thin trail of blood that was trickling down her forearm. "That must've happened when you flew at me. You ripped your IV out. Sit back up on the bed and I can fix it."

The girl scrambled up so quickly Stein would have thought she'd been burned. She sat down on the bed hesitantly while Stein got the supplies he needed from the room's medical cupboard.

"I'm going to need to clean it," the doctor said as gently as possible, so as to not scare her. He pulled a desk chair over to the bed and sat on it backwards, snapping on latex gloves. He put all the supplies he needed on the fold-out table that was attached to the bed. "When I clean it, it will probably sting a bit. Is that alright?"

The girl gulped, but nodded. Stein proceeded to swab the wound with antiseptic; he saw his patient wince as the liquid burned, and he quickly finished cleaning the injury. He picked up the end of the IV and cleaned it before putting a new needle on the tip.

The girl regarded the needle with nervous eyes. "Are you going to stick that in me?" she asked with some trepidation.

Stein nodded. "I'm afraid so, but after a while, maybe in a few hours, it will come back out and stay out, alright?"

The girl nodded and closed her eyes. "Okay."

"It's going to hurt a bit," Stein warned before finding a vein and sticking the needle in his patient's arm. The girl whimpered as it broke the skin, then cringed as if she were expecting to be hit. Stein noted the cowering as he taped the needle in place.

'Abuse?' he wondered as he put his supplies away. He cleaned the area, then returned to his desk chair and sat in front of Chrona.

"So, what's your name?" he asked as friendly and gently as possible.

"Ch-Chrona," the girl stammered.

"That's a nice name," Stein said with a much-practiced, plastered-on natural smile. "Where are you from, Chrona?"

"L-Los Angelos."

The doctor raised an eyebrow. "You ran away from home?" The girl nodded miserably. "You're far from home. Your parents must be extremely worried."

"That bitch doesn't care," Chrona snarled. The male voice was back again, and Chrona's light grey eyes had darkened a few shades. "It's her fault I even fucking exist in this world." Stein's eyes widened slightly at the sudden change in attitude.

"Are you still Chrona?" he asked carefully, bracing himself for a possible attack.

The person who had taken over scoffed. "As fucking _if_. Like I'd be that twig. Name's Ragnorak, Frankendoc, don't forget it!"

Stein nodded slowly, making a quick mental note to tell Marie about his newest nickname. "Why do your parents not care?"

Ragnorok paused, as he seemed to be listening to something. "Chrona'd rather explain that. . . ."

Stein nodded again. "Whatever you wish."

"See you then, Frankendoc!" The darkness faded out of Chrona's eyes and her body slumped a bit.

"S-Sorry about him," she stuttered almost immediately. "He's just like that all the time and—"

Stein held up a hand to stop her garbled apologies. "Its fine, I've met worse. What did Ragnorok mean by saying your mother doesn't care?"

"I-It's not that my m-mother doesn't care," Chrona said slowly, choosing her words with care. "She's just strict and. . . Ragnorok doesn't like her 'cause of that."

The doctor nodded. "I see. . . what about your father?"

Chrona was silent. "I-I don't have one. . . I mean, I don't know him. . ."

"I understand," Stein told her. "I need to call your mother and tell her that you're here and that you're safe. It's the law. Can you give me her phone number?"

Chrona recited it and Stein scribbled it down on his clipboard. "And what is your mother's name?"

"M-Medusa."

Stein stop mid-stroke. "Medusa?"

Chrona nodded. Stein looked at her sharply, tracing the lines of her face, the gears turning in his brain. . . No. . . it couldn't be. "And your last name?"

He prayed she wouldn't say it, that is was just a coincidence.

"G-Gorgon."

Stein had to fight to keep his composure. His hands were shaking. "And for the records, how old are you?"

"Almost fifteen."

"Birthday?"

"October 31st."

That was it. It proved it with almost a shadow of a doubt. Stein inwardly cursed. He stood; the chair clattered as he did so. He needed to get out of the room before he lost his composure completely, but he didn't know a way to do it without alerting the girl something was wrong.

He was saved by his cell phone going off. He fumbled for it and checked the caller ID. It was his wife, Marie.

"I've got to go," Stein said, striding to the doorway. "I'll send someone with something to eat in a little bit, okay?" Chrona nodded dumbly, watching the cell phone warily as it rang again.

The director stepped into the hallway and opened his ringing phone. "Hold on a moment, Marie." He put the phone on mute and snagged the passing Kami by the elbow.

"Kami, could you call Chrona's mother and explain the situation?" he asked.

"Chrona is the name of the girl?" the woman asked.

Stein nodded and handed the nurse the clipboard on which he had scribbled notes. "Tell her the address of the hospital, explain, and ask her how she wants to deal with transportation."

Kami smiled and took the clipboard. "No problem."

Stein gave her the most grateful look he could muster before heading towards the stairs. Once he was at the top, he headed out on the roof. It was nearing sundown, and the sky was a rainbow of colors. He was surprised; it was later then he had thought.

The doctor looked down at the phone in his hand. How could he face her now? Stein took a deep breath and took the phone off mute. "Marie?"

"Hey, sweetheart," Marie said kindly. "Are you coming home?"

Stein glanced at his watch; it was almost five. He shift had technically ended an hour ago. "M'sorry, Marie, I didn't realize it was so late. I was with a patient, so I couldn't call you."

His wife sighed. "Do you know when you're coming home?"

Stein hesitated. "W-Well, this patient could go either way, and I'm probably the only person at the hospital who could deal with it if something were to happen, so I think its best if I stay until the danger has passed."

Marie sighed again. "That means you'll be sleeping at the hospital, right?"

"I imagine so."

"I see." Stein could almost see his wife standing in the kitchen, leaning on the wall with the phone to her ear, twirling a strand of her hair around her finger. "Alright, just don't dwell on it if something goes wrong, 'kay?"

'How could I not dwell on this?' Stein thought bitterly. "I won't, Marie," he said aloud.

"Are you alright?" Marie asked with concern in her tones. "You sound unwell."

"I'm fine, Marie," Stein told his wife, practically lying through his teeth. "I'm just a bit worried about the patient, that's all."

"Alright," Marie said, sounding convinced. "I love you, Franken."

"Same."

Stein closed the phone and slid it into his pocket. He pulled a lighter and a box of cigarettes from the same pocket and put one of the cancer sticks to his lips. He needed a smoke, hang the fact that he was a doctor.

* * *

**A/N:** YUP. LOOKIT THAT. That mysterious girl was a certain lovable Chrona. ;) And Ragnorak to boot! YAY RAGGY. 8D

BUT WHAT IS STEIN'S PROBLEM, YOU ASK?! FIND OUT NEXT CHAPTER.

Reviews are love and crack. Every time you review, Chrona smiles! So please, review to make Chrona smile and to fuel my addiction until next chapter. Thanks~!

-Toasty

**P.S. **AND IF YOU HAVEN'T YET, CHECK OUT MAKIO-MOMMA'S SOUL EATER AU FANFIC _**TRAUMA CENTER**_. It's way better then this piece of garbage! GO READ IT. NAO.


	5. Forced Hiatus

Alright everyone, as the title says, I'm going on a temporary forced hiatus.

Why?

Because of my hands. It's actually not carpal tunnel (as I originally thought), but _tendonitis._

Tondonitis is when the tendons become inflamed for a variety of reasons, and the action of pulling the muscle becomes irritating. If the normal smooth gliding motion of your tendon is impaired, the tendon will become inflamed and movement will become painful. This is called **tendonitis**, and literally means inflammation of the tendon.

And this is what I have. I have over-stressed my hands typing and writing, and basically I have to stop any excessive writing or typing to recover.

Which for me basically means a computer hiatus.

Which means I will limit my time on the computer to in the morning before I go to school (6 AM -6:30 AM), right after I come home from school (3PM to 3:45PM) and right before I go to bed (10:30PM - 11 PM). Those will be the best times to catch me if you need to contact me.

If I don't respond to your comments/journals/replies/notes, it's because of my hands. It's hurting me to type this right now.

I'm not sure when this hiatus will end, but it will probably be beginning to mid-November at the earliest.

This hiatus includes: stories, anything computer related [deviant art, cosplay(dot)com, fanfiction(dot)net, everything] anything writing related, betaing, etc etc.

This hurts me just as it hurts you guys. I basically live on the computer so this will mean a hard time adjusting for me...maybe it'll help boost my grades too. XD

I'll do my best to answer comments and replies, but no promised.

-Love, Toasty

P.S. For more infor on tendonitis, google it or go to http://orthopedics(dot)about(dot)com/cs/sportsmedicine/a/tendonitis(dot)htm


	6. Chapter 5

**Title: **Past Hauntings

**Rating: **T

**By: **ToastWeaselofDOOM

**Summary: **AU. Franken Stein has everything. A wonderful wife, a house, and a respectable job. But this could all change when a mistake he made fifteen years ago comes back to haunt him.

**Warning:** As this is an AU, character's might be a tad OOC in order to fit into society and general living. I've tried to fit their abilities into the story best as I could, but there is always a few people who freak over these things, so I warn you now. I repeated, _CHARACTERS MIGHT BE A BIT OOC_. This also contains a bunch of my favourite pairings including (but not limited to) SteinMarie, SteinMedusa, SoulMaka, MarieSteinMedusa, etc etc. My beta(s) are very busy and can't beta everything on time all the time, so sometimes chapters will be published unbeta'd.

If you have a problem with one or more of these pairings, or with it the characters being OOC, or with it not being beta'd, I'm implore you, DO NOT FLAME ME IF YOU CONTINUE ON AND READ THIS. It will have been your fault for not reading my warnings and A/N before you read. Thank you! ^^

**A/N:** ...I think everyone's second-to-main question so far in this story will be answered here. . . and many more will be formed. :3 MWAHAHAHAHAHA!! THis was sent and beta'd before my haitus, so I'm technically not breaking it by sharing. Enjoy, puppies~!

**THIS CHAPTER WAS BETA'D **by ~Makio-Kuta and ~Desert(dot)Moon. Thanks a ton, guys!

* * *

Chapter 5

**Earlier in the Day, around 1:30 PM (1330 hours)**

When Soul reached the hospital half an hour after his escape from school, he doubled over, panting. He had run all the way from school, and he was berating himself for not running 'coolly.'

He gazed up at the hospital, getting a good look at it. He had been to the Death City Hospital several times before for trivial things, such as when he broke his arm, or when his older brother Wes smashed his violin over Soul's head and the younger boy had needed stitches. He'd been here only for injuries, never to look for someone.

His eyes skimmed the many windows. Which one was Maka in? He took a deep breathe and started towards the door. It swung open before he got there, and two woman stepped out. Both had blonde hair and green eyes, but more importantly, one of them was the one he searched for.

"Maka!!" Soul called out, rushing forward to meet his friend. "Dude, disappearing on me was _not _cool, man!"

The green-eyed girl looked up to see him running towards her. The moment he came within reach she hit him over the head. "MAKA CHOP!"

"Aaaah!" Soul cried, clutching his head. "Friggin _hurts_!! What was that for?!"

"Be grateful that wasn't a book, you idiot!" Maka exclaimed loudly. "It's still during school hours! What are you doing here?!"

"What am _I _doing here?!" Soul yelped. "Looking for you, you flat-chested idiot! What are _you_ doing here?!"

Maka sighed, folding her arms over her chest. "Do I have to explain?"

"Yes!" Soul shouted. "I want to know where you've been for the past day!"

"Calm down," the woman accompanying Maka ordered. "This is a hospital."

"Oh yeah!" Maka brightened. "Soul, this is my mom!"

The white-haired teenager looked at the woman, who was dressed in standard-issue hospital scrubs. She was obviously Maka's mother, with her startling emerald eyes and grey-blonde hair, which was pulled back in a high ponytail. The lady smiled at him.

"Hello, Soul, it's nice to meet you. I'm Kami, Maka's mother."

"Nice to meetcha as well," Soul drawled with a grin, exposing his sharp teeth. "Your mom's cool, Maka."

"That's the 'Soul Eater Evans stamp of Approval,' Mom," Maka informed her mother. "You've been labeled 'cool.'"

Kami smiled and was about to speak when a hand clamped down on Soul's shoulder. The teenager yelped.

"Hey, what gives—o-oh, hey, Principal Azusa."

Yumi clutched her cell phone in one hand, the other holding fast to Soul's shoulder. "I've found him, Sid," she said into the mouthpiece of her phone. "You were right. Good job."

She snapped the phone closed and gave Soul a look that made him feel as if he were completely and utterly doomed. "You, young man, are in big trouble."

Soul gulped. "Y-Yes, ma'am."

"I'll take them, Kami," Yumi said, turning to her old friend. "They both belong in school."

Kami nodded. "Alright, see you around." The mother gave her daughter a quick hug. "Bye, sweetheart."

"Bye, Mom."

Kami turned to go back into the hospital while Azusa and Maka walked to the parking lot, dragging the unfortunate Soul behind them.

-/-

Kami sighed as she tried to decipher Stein's handwriting. It was horrible, and even for all the years she had known him, she still couldn't read it. She made out the word "multiple personalities" with an arrow from it pointing to the word 'Ragnorok,' which she guessed to be the name of the personality.

The nurse found a phone in the office that wasn't being used and dialed the number Stein had scribbled. It rang twice, and then a woman answered the phone.

"Gorgon Household, Medusa speaking."

"Miss Gorgon?"

"Yes, what do you want?"

"Hi, this is Kami Albarn—" Inwardly, Maka's mother cringed; she hadn't changed her name yet "—from Death City Hospital."

"The Kami who was married to Spirit Albarn?" the woman on the other end asked.

". . .Yes," Kami said slowly. "How did you know that?"

"I used to work there a long time ago," Medusa said with a cheery voice. "What can I do for you?"

Kami sighed. "Forgive me for being blunt, but are you missing a child?"

"I am," the woman said. "Do you have leads on her?"

"Better yet," Kami said with a small smile. "We have her here in the hospital. She was found passed out in an alleyway and brought here to the hospital."

"That's wonderful!" Medusa exclaimed. "How is she? Chrona?"

Kami hesitated. "Well . . . can I tell you the truth? A mother to a mother?"

"Yes, what is it?"

"Well . . . are you aware your daughter has multiple personality disorder?"

There was silence on the other end. "N-No. I wasn't."

Well," Kami said, doing to best to decipher Stein's almost illegible scrawl, "apparently he only appears when Chrona is agitated or disagrees with something. Apparently he's rather violent and foul-mouthed; he attacked Doctor Stein when he was examining Chrona."

Silence again. "Is the Doctor okay?"

"Yes, he's fine," Kami assured her. "Chrona overpowered the personality before he could do much damage."

There was a sigh of relief on the other end of the phone. "That's good."

"Another thing," Kami said, eyes scanning the clipboard. "The personality said that he disliked you; that you didn't care about Chrona. Is there any truth to this at all?"

"I am a single mother working two jobs," Medusa said quietly. "I'm often not home a good amount of the time. I can see where this could be considered not-caring, but I love my daughter. I really do."

Kami nodded. "I understand completely. I am also a single mother, and I have a daughter about Chrona's age. In fact, my daughter was the one who found Chrona. I understand how you must feel."

"Give your daughter my utmost thanks," Medusa told her.

"I will," Kami assured her. "Now, there is the issue of getting Chrona home."

"I'll drive," Medusa said automatically, earnestly. "I'll leave as soon as I hang up the phone."

"Then I imagine we'll see you in a bit," Kami said cheerfully. "Drive safely! Since you used to work here, you know the address, correct?"

"I do," Medusa confirmed. "And I will." The line went dead and Kami smiled slightly as she set the phone back in its cradle. She wished all mothers were as dedicated to their children as Medusa was.

-/-

Several hours and many Styrofoam cups filled with coffee later, Medusa pulled up in front of Death City Hospital in the wee hours of the morning. She checked in at the front desk downstairs and was given a visitor's pass, then was guided upstairs.

A tired-looking woman with grey-blonde hair was sitting in front of the hospital room she was guided to. Medusa recognized her as Kami Albarn. The woman stood up and smiled at her.

"Ah, Medusa, I remember you now that I can connect a face with a name," the nurse said with a tired smile. "It's been a while."

"Fifteen or so years," Medusa replied. "How are you?"

"Hanging in there, yourself?"

"I'm. . ." Medusa paused, "tired. Tired and anxious. How is my daughter?"

"Chrona is sleeping at the moment," Kami told her, gesturing at the closed hospital door. "She has been for a while now."

Medusa nodded. "And how is she mentally?"

Kami gave a tired-looking smile and shrugged. "I believe that was what the director wanted to talk to you about."

Medusa nodded again. "Then shall I talk to him?"

"Follow me." Kami walked down the hall and directed Medusa into an elevator marked 'Staff Only.' They rose to the top floor and the nurse directed Chrona's mother to the end of a hallway.

"Here you are," Kami told her. "He should be inside, waiting for you."

"Thank you." Medusa turned the doorknob and pushed it open. She walked into the dark office; the door closed behind her and she heard the lock click. The blonde woman smirked. If he wanted it like that, so be it.

"Why didn't you tell me?" The voice that came from the shadows behind her was one she hadn't heard in nearly fifteen years.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she said with sweet faux-innocence.

"Don't lie to me, Medusa!" The voice growled. "Don't pretend you don't know! Why didn't you tell me I had fathered a child?!"

Medusa turned to face him, a smirk playing on her lips. "You never asked, Franken Stein."

* * *

**A/N:** ...heh heh heh. :3 So yeah, what I told all of you about Stein not being Chrona's father. I LIED. That's one thing you've gotta learn about me. When it comes to revealing plot secrets, I LIE. I LIE LIKE RUG. The only people who know the full plot (or close to it) are my Chrona cosplay, Maki, and my sister. SO YEAH. I'm technically not breaking hiatus.

But yes, on the ending, as Kit says "OH SNAP", rofl

Momma/Kit, pretty please beta and send me Chapter 6 as soon as you are able to so I can "not break hiatus" again. :3

-Toasty

**P.S. **IF YOU HAVEN'T YET (you should have, I've only been harping on about it for a coupla chapters now), CHECK OUT MAKIO-MOMMA'S SOUL EATER AU FANFIC _**TRAUMA CENTER**_. It's way better then this piece of garbage! GO READ IT. NAO.


	7. Chapter 6

**Title: **Past Hauntings

**Rating: **T

**By: **ToastWeaselofDOOM

**Summary: **AU. Franken Stein has everything. A wonderful wife, a house, and a respectable job. But this could all change when a mistake he made fifteen years ago comes back to haunt him.

**Warning:** As this is an AU, character's might be a tad OOC in order to fit into society and general living. I've tried to fit their abilities into the story best as I could, but there is always a few people who freak over these things, so I warn you now. I repeated, _CHARACTERS MIGHT BE A BIT OOC_. This also contains a bunch of my favourite pairings including (but not limited to) SteinMarie, SteinMedusa, SoulMaka, MarieSteinMedusa, etc etc. My beta(s) are very busy and can't beta everything on time all the time, so sometimes chapters will be published unbeta'd.

If you have a problem with one or more of these pairings, or with it the characters being OOC, or with it not being beta'd, I'm implore you, DO NOT FLAME ME IF YOU CONTINUE ON AND READ THIS. It will have been your fault for not reading my warnings and A/N before you read. Thank you! ^^

**A/N:** Hurrrr. I love this chapter. Medusa makes me sickly twistedly happy.

**THIS CHAPTER WAS BETA'D **by ~Desert(dot)Moon. Still waiting for Maki's beta. :3 Thanks a ton, cara!

* * *

Chapter 6

Stein hated her. He could feel the hate bubbling up from within him. He hated her in that black dress and lab coat. He hated her hair: short, blonde, and spiky in the back with the two twin tails that framed her face and twined under her chin. But most of all, he hated her eyes: yellow poison that penetrated and infected him, just like they had when he'd first met her those fateful years ago.

She walked into the room and he closed the door securely, making sure to lock it. He wanted no one barging in on this.

"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked in a dangerously quiet voice.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she in a voice that almost dripped with honey.

"Don't lie to me, Medusa!" Stein growled, hatred growing with each word she spoke. "Don't pretend you don't know! Why didn't you tell me I had fathered a child?!"

She turned, a smirk growing on her face. "You never asked, Franken Stein."

"That is beside the point," Stein hissed, leaving the door and advancing on her. "I believe I should be informed if I have brought a life into this world!"

"I don't think the man who ran away from his own apartment afterwards deserves to know about the child he created," Medusa said quietly, walked towards him, causing him to back up.

"But I'm willing to leave all that behind and start anew," she purred almost seductively. The blonde woman had him backed up against the door, and there was a hand on his chest.

Stein felt as if he were paralyzed; his senses had stopped functioning. Even though his brain told him to move, he couldn't. Medusa snaked an arm behind his head; the one on his chest went to his waist. She pulled, forcing him to stoop to her level. Their lips were about to meet when he regained his senses and shoved her away.

"Don't touch me," he growled. "I'm married and I would rather _die_ than be with you."

"Such harsh words," Medusa said coyly, advancing on him again. "I guess you never want to interact with Chrona ever again."

"That is an empty threat," Stein said evenly. "I've got enough evidence to gain more custody over Chrona than you _ever _will."

Medusa's face turned ugly. "And what is that _evidence_?"

"Photographic evidence," Stein replied; this time the smirk was growing over _his_ features. "Scars, cuts, lacerations, bruises; and I'm quite certain Chrona's testament would be enough."

"What are you talking about?" Medusa hissed.

"I noticed bruises when I was initially examining Chrona," Stein told her. "Later on, I had a female nurse look her over and take pictures of any wounds past or present she could find. It didn't take much thought to realize that they weren't there from the three months she's been missing. Fifteen years in this practice has taught me a thing or two.

"You beat Chrona, don't you?" Stein asked her, olive-green eyes daggers. "That's why she cowers when she hears your name and flinches whenever she's touched. Not to mention I'm rather certain that the mental impact from incessant, repeated beatings, as well as her low self-esteem, was enough to create Ragnorok, whom you use when you need someone in your gang to be violent and brutal."

"Are you insane?" Medusa asked, laughing. "Listen to yourself; you're grasping at straws! A gang? What on earth are you talking about?!"

"Oh, really?" Stein raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms over his chest. "I don't think so. You worked in this exact same hospital alongside me fifteen years ago. Do you remember what you specialized in? Gunshot and stab wounds; perfect for a bunch of criminals.

"Also, your sister Arachne is the leader of the gang Arachnophobia. It makes sense that you would be the leader of the group that's been floating around and calling themselves 'The Vectors.' You always had a thing for arrows, just like I've always liked stitches. Am I right, Medusa?"

Medusa scowled. "How long have you known?"

Stein shrugged his shoulders. "A while. Ever since you mysteriously left fifteen years ago, I've been putting the pieces together."

"Why haven't you told anyone?"

"I've never had any reason to," Stein said, pushing his glasses up his nose, "but now I do. You've been abusing Chrona; your flesh and blood as well as mine. I will not allow it. Even if I do bring my reputation down, ruin my career, and anger my wife, I don't care. I'll get the right to be Chrona's parent—her correct one."

Medusa face turned ugly. "You will do no such thing. Chrona's the only thing I have in this world. She's the only person who listens to me and obeys me faithfully without questions, and she's my daughter. If you try and take Chrona from me, I'll take that precious wife from you."

Stein froze. "Get out."

"What?"

"Get out," Stein repeated, pointing at the door. "Now."

Medusa's face widened in a smirk. "We have an accord then." She let him scowl at her for a moment then swept out of the room.

The doom slammed behind her and Stein collapsed into his desk chair. ". . . God damn it . . ."

She'd won.

* * *

Stein got home from the hospital at half past five. He took his lab coat off and hung it one the rack in the hallway. As he was removing his shoes, he noticed the basement light was on. He hung his keys on the key rack and trod silently down the stairs to the den. The sight he was met with made his tired features twitch with the ghost of a smile.

Marie was sitting curled up on the couch, wrapped in an afghan and deeply absorbed in a book. Stein was amused that she was playing a CD of Australian instrumental music, another reminded of his wife's time spent living and studying in Oceania.

"I told you not to wait up for me," Stein said with a sigh.

Marie jumped, but then a smile stretched across her features. "Franken, you're home!"

"Yes," Stein agreed, joining her on the couch. "Marie, do you know what _time_ it is?"

Marie shook her head and glanced at the clock. "Oh, wow, it's really late!"

"Or early, depending on how you think," Stein murmured, slipping an arm around his wife's slender frame. "How was your day?"

"Oh, it was eventful!" Marie said excitedly. "One of my students decided to leave school in the middle of my class by forging my signature!"

"Where did they go?" Stein asked, amazed she could be so energetic at such an early hour.

"The hospital," Marie told him. "To look for a missing friend . . . At least, that's what Yumi told me."

The facts thunked into place and the gears in Stein's head turned despite the lateness of the hour. "You aren't talking about Soul Eater Evans, are you?"

Marie nodded. "Yes, how'd you know?"

"Mister Evans paid a visit to the hospital looking from Maka Albarn," Stein explained.

"Maka was at the hospital?" Marie asked. "I guess Soul was right about her being ill. . ."

"Ill?" Stein asked, chuckling slightly. "Marie, Maka was there for a completely different reason."

"So he lied to me?!" Marie asked, her face heating up. "Maybe I should extend his detention another month!"

"You gave him a month's worth of detention?" Stein queried, a silver eyebrow rose in surprise. "Don't you think that's a bit . . . extreme?"

"Oh, no, it wasn't me," Marie said airily. "It was Yumi, she gave him detention for the rest of the year!"

"Clear through January?" Stein asked.

Marie nodded. "And I'm the one who has to hold it, so I'll be home a bit later for the rest of the year." She sighed heavily and leaned up against him. "I love you, Franken." Stein leaned his head on hers, breathing in the aroma of her eucalyptus-scented shampoo.

"I love you, too," he murmured, his voice slightly muffled by her hair. After a few minutes her breathing slowed and Stein could tell his wife had fallen asleep. Stein carefully pulled a second afghan from the back of the couch and wrapped it around himself and her before lying his head back on hers.

"G'night, Marie."

He closed his eyes and fell asleep listening to her soft breathing and the waning notes of a didgeridoo.

* * *

The ride home to Los Angelos was silent.

The silence bothered Chrona. She was used to some sort of noise always being around her, but the silence was something she couldn't deal with. She distracted herself by squirming and messing with her uneven hair.

"Stop fighting and sit still," Medusa snarled from beside her in the driver's seat. Chrona shrank into herself and ceased all movement. The air in the car was tense, which added to the girl's distress. It was obvious her mother was furious with her and Chrona wanted to forestall the impending beating for as long as possible.

They arrived in the city and reached home a little before eight o'clock; Chrona wordlessly followed her mother into their house.

"Oi, Miss Medusa, you brought that little runt home?" grunted a man from the couch. The man was tall despite sitting down, with short black hair and big, sculpted muscles. His black t-shirt was stretched tightly over his chest, and one of his muscled arms was slung over the shoulders of a young woman with long blue hair and a polka-dot dress.

"Obviously, gecko," the young woman quipped. "Or she wouldn't be standing there, gecko."

"Eruka, Free addressed his question to me, not you," Medusa said coolly. "And yes, I'm brought her home."

"Oi, Chrona, get your butt in here!" Free barked, causing the pink-haired girl to freeze in her tracks. She slumped and slunk into the room.

"Ah, so the lovely runaway decides to join us," Medusa sneered, grabbing her daughter by the collar and using the momentum to throw her at Free, who had stood up. "Hold her, Free."

Free's arms locked around Chrona's, making it impossible for her to escape. "Sure thing, Miss Medusa."

Medusa stalked up to Chrona and slugged her. "You—will—_never_—run—away—again!" she growled, punching her daughter for each word she spoke. Chrona struggled, but it was futile. Hit after hit the girl took until Free said something about not killing her.

Medusa finally relented and Free released her. Chrona barely had time to breathe before her mother had grabbed her by the throat and shoved her into the wall.

"You think you're pretty lucky, don't you?" Medusa growled, tightening her grip around her daughter's neck and squeezing. "Well, you are. I'd beat you to death, but that might make people wonder where you were, and we can't have people investigating us and poking their noses where they don't belong."

Chrona whimpered slightly as Medusa increased the pressure on her throat. "O-Ow."

Medusa released her daughter and then slapped her across the face, sending her sprawling to the floor. "You're a weak coward, just like your father."

"F-Father?" Chrona stuttered, wincing in pain.

"Yes, father," Medusa growled, kicking her daughter in the side. "You remember the doctor with silver hair and stitches that treated you? _That_ is your father, you worthless child."

Chrona's grey eyes grew wide. "Th-That was my father?"

"Didn't I just say that?!" Medusa asked impatiently. "Get out of my sight." Chrona managed to drag herself to her feet and somehow stumble up the stairs to her room, where, free of her mother, she collapsed on her lumpy mattress and sobbed.

* * *

**A/N:** So we have some background, confrontation, Chrona being beat into a bloody pulp (D:) and other yeah.... this is probably one of my favorite chapters that I've written so far (my favorite one is the next chapter, Chapter 7, and the last chapter that I wrote before going on hiatus ): ) ...and you now know why Chrona had the bruises Stein saw in Chapter 4 and why she has Raggy and why she cuts. Life just isn't very nice to our poor, poor Chrona dear, is it? D:

MEDUSA. OMG. I LOVE HER AND HATE HER AT THE SAME TIME. She's so abusive and sadistic and--fffffff. She's a fun character to write--her evil side at least. :3

And you know that little scene with Stein and Marie made you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Tried to keep Stein in-character as best I could!

...and you all are going to LAUGH YOUR ASSES OFF when you see Azusa's punishment for our dear Soul-kun. :3 You never want to have detention assigned by Azusa. EVER. BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA~!

See you all next chapter~!

-Toasty

P.S. I'VE SAID IT A MILLION TIMES, AND I'LL SAY IT AGAIN: CHECK OUT MAKIO-MOMMA'S SOUL EATER AU FANFIC _**TRAUMA CENTER**_. It's way better then this fic. AND I WANT TO SEE YOU ALL LEAVING MOMMA SOME REVIEWS, Y'HERE?!


	8. Chapter 7

**Title: **Past Hauntings

**Rating: **T

**By: **ToastWeaselofDOOM

**Summary: **AU. Franken Stein has everything. A wonderful wife, a house, and a respectable job. But this could all change when a mistake he made fifteen years ago comes back to haunt him.

**Warning:** As this is an AU, character's might be a tad OOC in order to fit into society and general living. I've tried to fit their abilities into the story best as I could, but there is always a few people who freak over these things, so I warn you now. I repeated, _CHARACTERS MIGHT BE A BIT OOC_. This also contains a bunch of my favourite pairings including (but not limited to) SteinMarie, SteinMedusa, SoulMaka, MarieSteinMedusa, etc etc. My beta(s) are very busy and can't beta everything on time all the time, so sometimes chapters will be published unbeta'd.

If you have a problem with one or more of these pairings, or with it the characters being OOC, or with it not being beta'd, I'm implore you, DO NOT FLAME ME IF YOU CONTINUE ON AND READ THIS. It will have been your fault for not reading my warnings and A/N before you read. Thank you! ^^

**A/N:** This chapter makes me all happy inside. I love flashbacks. :3 WHAT IS THE FLASHBACK YOU ASK. WELL YOU HAS TO READ AND FIND OUT. Although I'm sure most of you already know what I'm flashing back too. ;) No graphics, I promise. Just Stein and Spirit being drunk off their asses. Hurr hurr hurr. _Thanks For the Memories_ by Fall Out Boy is rather appropriate for this in some places. ;D

**THIS CHAPTER WAS BETA'D **by ~Desert(dot)Moon. Still waiting for Maki's beta. :3 Thanks a ton, cara!

* * *

Chapter 7

–**Death City Hospital, Annual Christmas Party, 16 years previously–**

Stein sipped at his punch, listening to the Director of the Hospital speak. He'd been talking about finance and the like for the better part of an hour, putting most of the staff to sleep. Finally, as Stein swallowed the dregs of his drink, the head finished talking and started the party.

"Uuuugh, I thought that would never end!" a man with shoulder-length crimson hair whined, stretching noisily. "He about put me to sleep!"

"Only you, Senpai," Stein said, eyeing his friend with an air of slight amusement. "Where's Kami?"

"She went home," Spirit replied. "She's not feeling too well because of the baby."

"Ah, right, you mentioned Kami was pregnant," Stein muttered, sipping at another cup of punch. "When is she due to give birth?"

"May!" Spirit declared proudly. "I've going to be a father~!"

"At eighteen," Stein added, drinking nonchalantly.

"That is beside the point!" the crimson-haired man snapped. "You're eighteen, too!"

"True, but I don't have the mentality of a three-year-old," Stein pointed out.

Spirit wilted. "You're meeeaaaaaaaan, Stein!"

"Case in point," the silver-haired man said with a sigh. Spirit pouted and gazed in the opposite direction.

"Oooh!" he crowed with interest. "Stein, the ladies are checking us out!"

Spirit's friend rolled his eyes with a sigh and frowned. "Senpai, is that all you ever think about?"

"It's true!" Spirit whined, pointing to the opposite side of the ballroom. True to his word, there were a couple woman standing together in a small group on the other side of the room. When he looked their way, they giggled and blushed.

"See, I told you!" the crimson-haired man gloated. "They wanna dance with us!"

". . .What?" Stein asked, raising a silver eyebrow. "Senpai, are you out of your mind? You're _married_."

"But you're not!" Spirit said triumphantly. "Now, go on, ask one of them for a dance!" He gave the silver-haired man a little shove in the direction of the women. Stein lurched forward, just catching himself from falling.

He turned his stumble into a loping stride that carried him to the opposite side of the ballroom. He stopped in from of the three women and offered them a casual, much-practiced smile. Two blushed and turned away shyly, but the last one, a woman capped by short blonde hair with two tails that framed her face, stood her ground. Stein turned to her.

"Good evening," he said with his best manners. He held out his hand to her. "May I have this dance?"

The woman blushed delicately and took his hand. "Yes, you may."

Stein led her out onto the dance floor and spun her to face him. He placed his hand on the small of her back (which was bare, due to the low cut of her dress) and took her hand. She placed her hand on his shoulder and they began to dance.

"So, what's your name?" the woman asked as they swayed.

"It's common courtesy to introduce yourself before asking another their name," Stein told her.

"My name is Medusa Gorgon," the woman said with a slight smile. "And you are?"

"Franken Stein."

"Pleasure, Mister Stein," Medusa said, smiling. Stein noticed her eyes: deep golden orbs which looked as if they had something to hide. He stored his observation away in his brain and spun the nurse before returning his hand to her back.

"No, the pleasure is all mine," Stein disagreed.

Medusa blushed slightly. "Thank you."

"What do you specialize in?" the silver-haired man asked, carefully twirling his partner.

"Puncture, stab, and gunshot wounds," Medusa replied. "What about you?"

Stein grinned. "Operating. That's what I specialize in."

Medusa's eyes widened and then she laughed. "Maybe that's why the whole hospital is buzzing about you." The two continued to dance until the song ended, and then they separated.

"Thank you for the dance," the nurse said, smiling slightly.

"My pleasure," Stein told her. "Would you like to join me and sit with my friend?"

Medusa shrugged. "Sure." Stein led her back his former spotand pulled a chair out for her. She sat, as did he, but they had barely started a conversation when they were joined by a rather red-faced Spirit.

"Shtein!" he exclaimed giddily. "Who's thish lovely~ lady?"

Stein sighed. "Senpai, you're drunk, aren't you?"

"Of coursh not!" the crimson-haired man slurred. "Don't change the subject, Shtein!"

Stein sighed again. "Senpai, this is Medusa Gorgon. Medusa-san, this is Spirit Albarn."

"Nice to meet you," Medusa said politely.

Spirit looked Medusa over with unfocused eyes. "Hmmmmm . . ." He tilted his head left, then right. "I 'prove, Shtein! Keep 'er!"

Medusa blushed and Stein closed his eyes and sighed once more. "I'm sorry about him, Medusa-san. He get's this way when he's drunk."

The silver-haired man reached over and plucked the cup of punch from Spirit's fingers. "You've had enough, Senpai." With that, Stein tipped his head back and drained the glass.

"Ssssshhhtteeeeeiiinnn!!!" Spirit whined, looking devastated.

"You've had enough," Stein repeated, setting the empty cup down. He took the second cup his friend had been carrying and drained that of its contents as well. "Now, Spirit, make yourself useful and get Medusa-san something that _isn't_ spiked, would you?" Spirit grinned like the drunken idiot he was and headed off to the refreshment table.

"Are you alright?" Medusa asked from his side. "I mean, those drinks were probably spiked."

"They were," Stein said nonchalantly. "I could taste the alcohol. But I have a high alcohol tolerance, so there is no need to worry about me."

Medusa nodded. "Does that mean you're up for another dance?"

Stein raised a silver eyebrow. He stood and leaned down and offered his hand to her. "Perhaps."

The blonde woman smiled and took his hand. "Thank you."

The doctor simply smirked and led the nurse onto the dance floor. Back and forth, back and forth they swayed, moving with the music; Stein spun his partner at just the right time.

Back and forth, back and forth. The silver-haired doctor was aware of a fuzziness that was slowly overcoming his vision. He blinked and shook her head, but it did nothing. He cursed inwardly as he tripped slightly.

'Damn it,' he though, 'the alcohol is getting to me. High alcohol tolerance, my ass.' Stein blinked and shook his head again, but to no avail.

Medusa had noticed the change. "Are you alright?"

Stein blinked and shook his head several times. "I—I think so . . . Just a little dizzy, that's all."

"You should sit down," Medusa said, observing him with concerned golden eyes. She broke their dance and led him back to their table to sit. Spirit, who was sitting at the table, grinned drunkenly as Medusa guided Stein into a chair. The silver-haired man sat watching the world spin interestingly as Medusa went to get him something to drink.

She came back a few minutes later and handed him a glass of water. "Drink that."

Stein downed the glass' contents quickly, but it didn't nothing to help the world spinning. Medusa called over a mocha-skinned woman, who surveyed Stein and Spirit.

"Somebody spiked the punch," Medusa told her fellow nurse. "Nygus, Sid is picking you up, right?"

Nygus nodded, brushing her braided hair out of her eyes. "Yes, and we can take Spirit home, but not Stein."

Medusa sighed heavily. "I suppose I can take him home. It's on the way to my apartment so it isn't _too_ far out of my way. I'll need an exact address though."

Nygus nodded again. "You might want to get Stein home soon. He obviously can't function well under alcohol." She nodded at Stein, whose eyes were unfocused and who was grinning like a madman.

Medusa nodded her agreement and went over to her colleague. "Franken, are you ready to go?" Stein turned his confused eyes on her and tilted his head to the side. "I'll take that as a yes."

The blonde nurse took his hands and pulled the doctor to his feet. "Follow me, Stein." The drunken man stumbled after her, often leaning heavily on her shoulder. She helped him into her car and turned to Nygus, who had followed them outside to give Medusa Stein's address.

"Thank you, Nygus. I'll see you at work tomorrow?"

The mocha-skinned woman nodded. "Yes, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Goodnight."

"'Night, Medusa."

The blond nurse climbed into her car, carefully belting Stein in before she fixed her own safety belt and started the car. Twenty minutes later she had pulled up in front of the apartment building Stein lived in. She assisted him in getting out of her car and into the building, then fished in his lab coat pocket for his keys and opened the door.

Medusa helped him out of his lab coat and shoes and sat him down on the main-room couch before going to the tiny kitchen and filling a glass with water. She came over and sat down beside the surgeon as she set the glass in front of him.

"If you drink that, it will help your hangover in the morning," she told him. "It might also get you out of whatever fog you're in."

Stein blearily looked between her and the glass. ". . . Thank . . . you . . ."

The nurse smiled. "No problem. But I have to leave now, because of work. You should go to sleep soon." She made to stand up, but a hand grabbed her wrist and tugged her back onto the couch.

"Don't . . . go . . ." the silver-haired man mumbled.

Medusa smiled like she was dealing with an obnoxious toddler. "Alright, I won't go. Drink your water, Stein."

Stein carefully picked the cup up and sipped at it gingerly. After several minutes, he set the half-empty cup down. His tongue darted over his pale lips, licking water droplets off them.

Medusa could barely tear her eyes away from him. She had harbored feelings towards the doctor/scientist for a while, and now that she was alone in the same room with him, she was having trouble keeping her eyes off. Stein could obviously feel her gaze, and olive-green eyes rotated in their sockets to stare at her.

"Looking . . . at something?" he asked slowly, slurring slightly. Medusa blushed and Stein smirked. "Yer turnin' red, Medusha... nothin' wrong ish there?"

Medusa shook her head. "Wha—no!"

"Yer lyin'~ !" the doctor sang-slurred. "People . . . dun blush 'cause they're 'kay, Medusha. Whaddya hidin'?"

"Nothing!" Medusa insisted, still pink in the face.

The silver-haired man sighed. "Shtill lyin'. . . Ya know wha' happensh to people who lie?" He leaned over the couch and brought his lips to her ear. "They're punished!"

Medusa frowned, although not entirely unpleased with his implications. "Stop it, Franken. You are drunk and cannot think straight."

Stein giggled insanely. "Maybe . . . maybe not~!" He grasped her chin in her hand and, with a wicked glint in his eyes, kissed her forcefully on the lips.

Medusa's golden eyes flew open in shock, then snapped closed. She kissed back hungrily, and before either knew what had happened, they were backing into Stein's bedroom. The doctor hooked the door with his foot on the way in and closed it with a slam.

At the moment the door slammed close, Franken Stein woke with a start from his nightmare, breathing hard. He looked around wildly, noting his surroundings and his sleeping wife by his side.

"Mmmmm?" Marie rolled over and gazed at Stein with sleep-bleared eyes. "Franken, what is it?"

Stein looked down at her, with her tousled blonde hair and confused golden eyes. "It's nothing, Marie. Go back to sleep."

"Mmmm'kay," the woman mumbled, turning back over and nestling into the covers.

Stein stayed sitting up for several more minutes, letting his heart rate slow. He wiped the cold sweat from his brow and slowly lay back down. He snaked an arm around Marie's waist and pulled him close to her, then rested his head in the crook of her neck and was asleep within seconds.

* * *

_Get me out of my mind  
And get you out of those clothes  
I'm a liner away  
From getting you into the mood  
Whoa_

_One night and one more time  
Thanks for the memories  
Even though they weren't so great;  
"He tastes like you only sweeter"!  
One night, yeah, and one more time  
Thanks for the memories, thanks for the memories;  
"See, he tastes like you only sweeter"!_

---Thanks for the Memories, Fall Out Boy_  
_

* * *

**A/N**: ...YES, AND THEN THE FLASHBACK ENDED BEFORE WE COULD GO TO ANYTHING GRAPHIC. I know some of you are all sad, but I dun write graphic stuff, sorryz. :3

SO THAT IS HOW CHRONA WAS MADE. Safe sex, kiddies! 8D;;

Spirit is buckets and buckets of fun to write, and he and Stein are even more fun to write when they're drunk. XD;;; AND YA, I GOT TO WRITE NYGUS FOR 5.2 SECONDS. YAAAAAY. She doesn't get enough love at all.

...and that was the end of the stuff I wrote before I went on hiatus. My hands are almost healed, and both Chapters 8 and 9 have been typed, they just need Makio-Momma's love and care. :3 And chapter 10 is being typed as we speak, and Chapter 11 is being writing! ;D Exciting, exciting! See you all hopefully next week! (Yes, Yes, Makio, I owe you a beta or five, I'm going, I'm going;;;)

-Toasty

**P.S.** I'VE SAID IT A MILLION, BILLION TIMES, AND I'LL SAY IT AGAIN: CHECK OUT MAKIO-MOMMA'S SOUL EATER AU FANFIC _**TRAUMA CENTER**_. It's _way_ better then this fic. AND I WANT TO SEE YOU ALL LEAVING MOMMA SOME REVIEWS, Y'HERE?!


	9. Chapter 8

**Title: **Past Hauntings

**Rating: **T

**By: **ToastWeaselofDOOM

**Summary: **AU. Franken Stein has everything. A wonderful wife, a house, and a respectable job. But this could all change when a mistake he made fifteen years ago comes back to haunt him.

**Warning:** As this is an AU, character's might be a tad OOC in order to fit into society and general living. I've tried to fit their abilities into the story best as I could, but there is always a few people who freak over these things, so I warn you now. I repeated, _CHARACTERS MIGHT BE A BIT OOC_. This also contains a bunch of my favourite pairings including (but not limited to) SteinMarie, SteinMedusa, SoulMaka, MarieSteinMedusa, etc etc. My beta(s) are very busy and can't beta everything on time all the time, so sometimes chapters will be published unbeta'd.

If you have a problem with one or more of these pairings, or with it the characters being OOC, or with it not being beta'd, I'm implore you, DO NOT FLAME ME IF YOU CONTINUE ON AND READ THIS. It will have been your fault for not reading my warnings and A/N before you read. Thank you! ^^

**A/N:** This chapter. UGH. STEIN, STOP SPARKLING WITH BISHOUJO SPARKLES, DAMMIT.

....and that is all.

**THIS CHAPTER WAS BETA'D **by ~Makio-Kuta and ~Kit-Love. I'm sorry, Kit, I made so many mistakes in this chapter. DX Ugh, it killed me, KILLED ME. DX Thanks a ton, both of you~!  


* * *

Chapter 8

—**Two Months Later—**

Stein woke in a cold sweat, his chest heaving like he'd just run a marathon. He hadn't had that nightmare-memory of his and Medusa's actions that cold December night almost sixteen years ago since he'd found out what the event had created. The doctor ran a hand down his face wearily and reached for his glasses. After his eyes adjusted, he glanced at the time. Ten forty-five.

He remembered why he was able to sleep so late today: It was his day off. Not that he wanted to have the day off, but Kami had insisted, saying he was overworking himself.

In truth, he had been. He arrived at the hospital early and stayed late. It helped keep his mind off of Medusa, Chrona, and that woman's threat should he show any interest in gaining custody over his daughter. The work had helped get his mind off the subject, but it was only a temporary fix; it had retreated to the back of his mind and hadn't bugged him . . . until this morning, that is.

The silver-haired doctor stripped himself of his sweat-soaked sleeping shirt and stood in his white sweatpants and bare feet. Without bothering to put another shirt on, Stein padded down the hallway to the empty kitchen. There was a post-it note from Marie stuck to the fridge, which he pulled off and read. The note started off with a greeting, then told him where she was (at work) and that there was coffee in the pot. Her name was at the bottom with a little heart next to it.

Stein's lips quirked into a fond smile as he read the note his wife had left him. Marie was always leaving him post-it note messages, whether reminders or just a hello. Sometimes he found notes in the most obscure places, but they always made him smile.

He set the note aside and turned to the coffee pot on the counter. The contents of the pot were lukewarm, but that was fine by Stein. He poured the beverage into a mug and took a long swig of it, then set it down and went to get the paper. What he found outside his house shocked him.

On his doorstep, a pale, beaten, bruised, scratched, and bloody Chrona sat, looking like she'd gone through hell to get to the place she was. Stein's olive eyes widened and Chrona gazed up at him, looking very much like a kicked puppy. It took several moments for the doctor to find his voice.

"Ch-Chrona?" he asked in amazement. The young girl nodded. "What— what happened to you?"

Chrona's grey eyes slide to stare fixedly on the ground. "M-Medusa . . . I-I ran away again . . . this . . . this was my last hope . . . I'm sorry . . ."

Stein sighed heavily. "You found out, then?" Chrona nodded miserably and repeated her apology profusely. Stein observed her for a second, then crouched down.

"Can you stand?" The lavender-haired girl nodded. Stein straightened and pointed behind him with his thumb. "Come in, then." Chrona's eyes widened.

"B-But—Medusa—I-I-I don't have to go back?" she stuttered in confusion. Stein shook his head. "B-But, the law! You said— aaaaah, I don't know how to deal with this!!!"" The girl curled up and clutched her head in her hands.

The doctor sighed and crouched down again. "You don't have to know how to deal with it; just trust me, Chrona. I won't give you back to Medusa, and I don't have to because I'm not at work. I can help you. Trust me."

Chrona's grey eyes met Stein's green ones and she nodded once. She struggled to her feet and followed her father into his house, Stein's quest for the paper forgotten. He guided her to the living room and sat her down on the couch.

Stein went to the kitchen, always keeping his daughter in his sights. After filling a glass with water, he set it in front of the girl and retrieved his half-full coffee mug from the counter.

"Did Medusa do this to you?" Stein asked her, gesturing at Chrona's cuts, bruises, and torn clothes. The child nodded miserably.

"M-Medusa t-told me to l-leave," she said quietly. "B-But she b-beat me before and—and Ragnorok h-had had enough so . . . so . . ."

"So?" Stein prompted his daughter gently. Chrona shook her head, biting her lip. "You can tell me, Chrona."

Chrona shivered and bowed her head. "I stabbed her, that's what." The voice was harsh and male; Ragnorok had taken over.

"You stabbed her?" Stein asked carefully. Ragnorok-Chrona grinned.

"You bettcha, Frankendoc. Straight in the gut. It was beautiful—blood everywhere and her face, oh yeah. . ." Ragnorok-Chrona leaned back into the couch, looking pleased with itself. "The look on 'er face was great. Priceless. But then Chrona forced me back and ran. And we're here a week la—no, you bitch, what are you do—AAAAUGH!!!" Chrona's body jerked and then slumped, slate-grey eyes lightening.

"I—I'm sorry, Stein-hakase! H-He took over and I couldn't stop him and—" Stein held up a hand to stop her apologies, feeling a slight sense of déjà vu as he remember how he'd done the exact same thing in the hospital room a few months earlier.

"It's fine; no need to apologize." Stein leaned forward and tapped the water glass he had set in front of her. "Drink this; it will help calm you down."

Chrona nodded and picked the glass up with trembling hands. "O-Okay. . . um, Stein-hakase?"

"Hm?" Stein looked up from his coffee mug.

"I-I'm sorry but . . . c—could you please put on a shirt?" Chrona asked before blushing and looking down at her feet.

Stein glanced down at his still-bare chest. "Of course, my apologies. I'll be back in a few minutes." Chrona nodded and Stein quickly headed down the hallway, grabbed a random t-shirt from his bureau, and pulled it on.

When he returned to the living room, he found his daughter standing and looking at the pictures on a bookshelf. Stein said her name softly before he joined her side.

"That's Marie, Chrona," he told her.

"Y-Your wife?" Chrona asked hesitantly, looking at the most prominent picture, which was a snapshot of Stein and Marie at the beach on their honeymoon.

Stein nodded. "Yes. She's a teacher at the local high school."

"O-Okay. . ." Chrona looked at the picture again before shifting her arm and wincing as it moved. Stein didn't miss a thing.

"Did you injure your arm?" he asked. Chrona shook her head, but her face showed the truth.

"Its okay, Chrona, you don't have to lie to me," Stein told her calmly. "Come sit at the counter and I'll look at it." His daughter obediently shuffled to sit at one of the stools at the end of the counter.

Stein sat next to her and took her arm. With expert hands he poked and prodded, talking Chrona through the entire thing. While he inspected her injured arm, he remembered the slashes he had seen on his daughter's wrists when he first met her. He discreetly checked Chrona's wrists; there were no new marks, but there were several half-healed ones.

"Alright," Stein said, setting Chrona's arm down. "It doesn't feel as if you've broken anything, but I could be wrong. You'll need to get an X-ray, but not today. For now I'll just put it in a splint."

"A-A splint?" Chrona whimpered looking nervous. "I don't think I can deal with a splint!"

"It won't hurt as bad once I set it in a splint," Stein promised. "I know you don't want it to hurt, so trust me. Alright, Chrona?" His daughter hesitated, thennodded slowly.

Stein smiled and stood. He pulled a first-aid kit from one of the cupboards and set it down on the counter. He opened it and drew out a couple rolls of bandages, a set of long chopsticks, and tape. He carefully put Chrona's arm in a temporary splint, once again talking her through the entire process.

After a few minutes, Stein fished in the kit for a pair of scissors to cut the bandage. He did so and taped the end in place. "There. How does that feel?"

Chrona moved her arm experimentally. "B-Better . . . Th-thank you, Stein-h-hakase."

"Don't mention it," said the doctor, putting his supplies away before looking her over. "If we don't wash the blood off your face, my wife will be upset." He fetched a paper towel and wet it with water, then carefully rinsed away the flakes of dried blood from her features. He wasn't sure if it was all her own, but he wasn't going to ask.

"Th-Thank you," Chrona muttered. Stein patted her head and threw the paper towel away.

"Would you like to sleep, Chrona? You look tired."

She nodded. "Y-Yes, please."

Stein directed her to the sofa again and went to the hall closet to get a blanket. When he returned, he found his daughter already curled up in a tiny ball, fast asleep. The father carefully draped the blanket over her slim form, tucking her in. He retrieved his laptop computer from his basement office and sat in the armchair next to the couch.

The doctor glanced at the clock and sighed. He had a little over five hours to come up with an excuse for Chrona's presence that he could tell Marie. He sighed once more, then got to work.

* * *

When Marie walked in the door of the house, she was met by her husband.

"Stein!" she cried out, obviously startled. He shushed her and beckoned her towards him. She moved closer and lowered her voice. "What is it, Franken? What's wrong?"

"We're going to have a guest for a while," he told her quietly, directing her attention to the still fast-asleep Chrona. "A friend of mine is having some . . . family and financial troubles right now, and doesn't want her daughter to be affected by it, so she asked me to watch over her for a little while. You don't mind, do you?"

Marie's golden eye widened, but she shook her head. "No, I don't mind at all! It will be nice having someone else in the house. How long is she staying with us?"

Stein shrugged. "They don't know, so they asked me to have her enrolled in school so she can continue her education."

His wife nodded. "Alright. What's her name?"

"Chrona," Stein replied instantly. "But I warn you now, she's got multiple personality disorder and her other self is rather . . . violent at times, so you need to be careful. The other self's name is named Ragnorok, and as long as you don't threaten him, you should be alright.

"Also, because of all the stuff she's gone through, she's very timid and easily frightened, so you need to talk gently and quietly." Stein closed the gap between his wife and himself and gathered her in his arms. He rocked her gently back and forth a while before saying, "Can you do that?"

Marie nodded, leaning his head on her husband's chest. "Yes, I can, Franken. Don't worry."

Stein smiled and kissed her softly. "Thank you, Marie."

Marie smiled as well, but hers was rather broader. "I've always wanted children. Even if she's not ours, we can still be a family until she goes back to her own house, right?"

Stein nodded. "Of course." On the inside, he was having trouble reigning in his thoughts.

'She may not be yours, but she's mine,' he thought bitterly, as his wife gently pulled away from his arms to start dinner preparations. 'But you don't know that . . . and you don't need to know right now You'll know someday, just not today.'

The doctor inwardly sighed and began to help Marie cook dinner. He obediently chopped, stirred, and tasted things like a good husband; and when Marie was ladling stew into bowls, he went to wake Chrona.

Stein called the girl's name several times, which caused her to mumble and turn over. He tentatively touched her on the shoulder and called her name again. The effect was instantaneous.

Chrona shot bolt upward, wide-eyed and panicky. She clutched the blanket close, eyes darting side to side. When she realized her surroundings, she burst into tears.

Stein hesitated, not exactly sure how to proceed. He wasn't good with children to begin with; when they began to cry, he was always lost. Marie, however, had no such issues and jumped into action. She swept around the kitchen island, drying her hands on her skirt as she went. The woman bent down and collected the sobbing Chrona in her arms.

"Shh, shh, it's alright," Marie consoled, rubbing Chrona's back. "You're alright. Everything's alright now." Chrona snaked her arms out and hugged Marie back, still sobbing into her shoulder.

Stein stood awkwardly next to them, not sure what to do. He cleared his throat and said, "It's fine, Chrona. No one is going to hurt you."

". . . Really?" Chrona's reply was muffled by Marie's shirt.

"Of course!" Marie exclaimed. "We wouldn't dream of hurting you!"

Chrona sniffed and pulled away from Marie. The girl wiped her eyes, then realized that she didn't know the woman in front of her. She shrunk back, letting out a whimper as her eyes widened.

Stein stepped forward before his daughter panicked. "Chrona, this is my wife, Marie. She won't hurt you, I promise."

Chrona looked between Stein and Marie, the latter still gazing at her with maternal concern. The girl relaxed and her eyes reduced in size, but she still looked weary. "O-Okay."

Stein's wife smiled. "So, Chrona, are you hungry?"

The lavender-haired girl nodded. "Y-Yes . . ."

"Would you like to eat with us?" Marie asked. "I made stew tonight."

Chrona nodded a second time. "Y-Yes. . . Th-thank you, ma'am."

The woman in front of her laughed, her golden eye sparkling. "You can just call me 'Marie,' 'kay? But Stein says you're gonna enroll at the school I teach at, so then you'll have to call me 'Marie-sensei,' 'kay?"

"Yes, Marie-san," Chrona mumbled, almost too quietly to hear.

Marie sighed. "Close enough. Now go and wash up for dinner, alright?"

Chrona nodded and wordlessly got up from the couch. She shuffled to the kitchen and washed her hands at the sink. Stein's wife helped her sit down and placed a bowl of stew and a glass of milk in front of her new charge.

"Hope you like it," Marie told her with a smile. "Feel free to ask for seconds if you're still hungry after you're done." Chrona nodded and poked at her food while the two adults finished bringing their own meals to the table.

Dinner was a rather silent affair, despite Marie's attempts to make conversation. Chrona ate slowly; but with Marie's encouragement, she finished all of her stew. The girl turned down Marie's offer for seconds and Stein's wife whisked the dishes away, then hurried off to prepare the guest bedroom for Chrona.

Stein finished his coffee and went to load the dishwasher. Chrona stayed at the table uncertainly. Stein joined her a few minutes later, a new mug of coffee in his hands.

I didn't tell Marie about your mother," the man said. "She doesn't know that you're my daughter. It's just a temporary measure; I'll tell her in time."

"B-But . . . isn't keeping a secret and telling lies b-bad?" Chrona stuttered.

Stein sighed. "Generally, yes. But there are exceptions."

"O-Oh. . ." Chrona fell silent and stared at her hands. Stein drank his coffee quietly. A few minutes later, Marie breezed down the hallway and into the room.

"Chrona, I've finished getting the bedroom ready," the woman told her. "You look exhausted; would you like to sleep?"

Chrona nodded hesitantly. "Y-Yes, please . . ."

Marie smiled. "I'll show you there, then. Follow me." The girl stood and followed her father's wife down the hallway that connected with the great room, leaving Stein to finish his coffee.

The blonde-haired woman showed Chrona to a door at the end of the hallway and held it open for her. The bedroom was a medium size, but it was way bigger than the room she slept in back in Los Angeles. A double bed was positioned in the center of the room's back wall. A desk stood at the footboard, and a chair rested on the left side, next to a bedside table.

There were two doors in the right wall. Marie explained that the one closest to the entrance led to a walk-in closet, and the one near the windows on the far side led to a connecting bathroom. A small wide-screen television was mounted the wall opposite the bed.

"I'll let you settle down," Marie told the girl. "Just shout if you need anything."

"O-Okay."

The teacher smiled at her and left the room, closing the door behind her. Chrona's first instinct was to go find a corner and hide in it, but she repressed that urge and crawled into the bed instead. It was much more comfortable than the one she slept in at home. She grabbed one of the fluffy pillows and squeezed it tightly.

So much had happened today, so much. These people were nice to her. And despite every bad word Medusa had said against him, her father seemed alright. His wife was nice, too, and had seemed to immediately welcome her. And they had fed her and given her a big room all for herself and— she curled up and buried her face into the pillow. She wasn't sure she could deal with all this change.

'_**Then don't.'**_ Chrona froze. No, not now. _** 'Give into me, bitch. Let me kill them all!'**_

"No, Ragnorak!" Chrona said aloud in a trying-to-be-sharp tone of voice. "Don't kill them, please!"

'_**Just let me take over for a little while!' **_ the personality whined._** 'I'll only kill a few of them! I won't kill that lady, her cooking is amazi—'**_

"Chrona?"

The girl jerked her head of from the pillow to see her father standing at the door to her room. "St-Stein-hakase!"

"Is something wrong?" Stein queried, tilting his head a little to look at her with a quizzical stare. "You look upset."

"Y-You didn't hear that?" Chrona asked.

Stein frowned. "Hear what?"

"O-Oh, nothing," Chrona stammered, looking down at her toes over the pillow she was hugging to her chest.

"I see." Stein shifted, looking awkward. "Well, Marie told me to say goodnight to you . . . So, goodnight."

He turned to leave, but stopped when Chrona called out, "P-Please wait!"

The silver-haired man turned back to look at her. "Yes, what is it?"

"I—um—ah—" Chrona fiddled with her fingers, not looking her father in the eye. "C-Could y-you stay with me?"

Stein raised an eyebrow. "Stay with you?"

His daughter nodded. "P-Please? J-Just for a little while?"

The doctor sighed, but crossed the room and sat in the chair next to the bed. "Alright. Just for a little while."

"Th-Thank you," Chrona mumbled, shivering slightly. She slithered under the covers and realized, as her small body began to be warmed by the comforter, exactly how tired she was. "St-Stein-hakase?"

"Yes, Chrona?"

"D-Do . . . Do . . . never mind."

"Alright."

Chrona closed her eyes, and for that brief moment, she felt the happiest she had in a long, long time. The girl fell asleep with a miniscule smile gracing her pale lips.


	10. Chapter 9

**Title: **Past Hauntings

**Rating: **T

**By: **ToastWeaselofDOOM

**Summary: **AU. Franken Stein has everything. A wonderful wife, a house, and a respectable job. But this could all change when a mistake he made fifteen years ago comes back to haunt him.

**Warning:** As this is an AU, character's might be a tad OOC in order to fit into society and general living. I've tried to fit their abilities into the story best as I could, but there is always a few people who freak over these things, so I warn you now. I repeated, _CHARACTERS MIGHT BE A BIT OOC_. This also contains a bunch of my favourite pairings including (but not limited to) SteinMarie, SteinMedusa, SoulMaka, MarieSteinMedusa, etc etc. My beta(s) are very busy and can't beta everything on time all the time, so sometimes chapters will be published unbeta'd.

If you have a problem with one or more of these pairings, or with it the characters being OOC, or with it not being beta'd, I'm implore you, DO NOT FLAME ME IF YOU CONTINUE ON AND READ THIS. It will have been your fault for not reading my warnings and A/N before you read. Thank you! ^^

**A/N:** This chapter. SO MANY MISTAKES. KIT WAS ABOUT TO KILL HERSLEF AND I ABOUT TO COMMIT SEPEKKU. But we worked it out, aru. :3

ANYWAY. I got you chapters of Past Hauntings for the Holidays!! Aren't you happy?! TWO CHAPTERS IN FACT. I know, love me and my inactive, lazy self. I'll try to update more freeequently~! Enjoy!

**THIS CHAPTER WAS BETA'D **by ~Desert(dot)Moon. Thank you for putting up with all of my mistakes in this, Kit! ~heart~

* * *

Chapter 9

Stein groaned and opened his eyes wearily. The night had been a long one; and as he looked around, he remembered why.

'Chrona,' he thought, gazing at the sleeping face of his daughter. She looked much more peaceful in sleep than out of it. Almost as if the loss of consciousness had rid her of all life's troubles.

Stein sat up in the chair and popped his neck nonchalantly. He had fallen asleep watching his daughter. She had asked him to stay and he had, but he didn't know what had compelled him to do so, and that bugged him slightly.

He rubbed a hand under his glasses; when he looked up, Chrona had shifted in her sleep. The doctor decided he was perfectly content with sitting in the chair and watching his daughter sleep. It wasn't as if he had anything to do today; he had weekends off.

There was a quiet knock on the door and it was pushed open. Stein's wife stood in the doorway, a smile on her face. "G'morning, Franken. Have a good sleep?"

"Yeah," muttered Stein, cracking his neck again. "Did you?"

Marie nodded. "I missed you."

"I'm sorry, I fell asleep here."

"I gathered." Marie's voice held a teasing tone, and her visible golden eye sparkled. "Oh, yes, I don't remember if I told you or not, but Maka is coming over for tutoring today."

Stein shook his head. "You either failed to mention it to me or I forgot."

"Well, I'm telling you now," Marie told him. "She'll be over in about forty-five minutes so try and be presentable, alright?"

"Yes, Marie," Stein said with a sigh. His wife crossed the room and gave him a kiss, then left again. "Oh, and there's coffee in the pot for you!" he heard her call down the hall.

"Thanks," Stein said, although he knew she couldn't hear him. He made to get up, but as he did, Chrona stirred; the man stopped and watched as his daughter rolled over, then sat up and blinked blearily.

"Good morning, Chrona."

The girl jumped as if a gun had gone off. She looked around wildly, but saw her father and calmed down. "G-Good Morning, Stein-hakase. . ."

"Sleep well?" Chrona nodded dumbly and scrubbed at her sleepy eyes.

"That's good." Stein stood and walked to and out the door. Chrona scrambled from the bed and followed her father as he headed down the hallway.

"G'morning, Chrona!" Marie exclaimed as the girl slunk after Stein into the great room. "Would you like some breakfast?"

Chrona's eyes widened. "O-Okay . . ."

Marie smiled. "Eggs, toast, and bacon alright with you?"

"S-sure."

"No need to stand, you can sit down while you wait." Chrona hesitantly took a seat at the counter. Stein, who had slipped out to get the paper, came back in with the roll of news. He took the plastic cover off of the paper and spread it out on the counter.

"What's new, Franken?" Marie asked, cracking eggs into a bowl.

"Arachnophobia has taken responsibility for another three murders," Stein replied, reading aloud from the headlines. "Guns and a chainsaw were used . . . all the throats of the victims were slit and the crime scenes were all cleaned with no blood, despite the brutality of the attacks. . ."

"How horrible!" Marie gasped. Chrona's eyes widened and she hugged herself as Marie poured the beaten eggs into a skillet. The sound of sizzling filled the kitchen. There was a knock on the door and Chrona started, barely containing a yelp. "Franken, can you get the door?"

"Sure." Stein moved from the counter and towards the door. He opened it to find the green-eyed Maka Albarn on the other side.

"Good morning, Stein-hakase!" she chirped with a smile. She turned and looked at the white-haired teenager straddling an idling motorcycle. "Okay, Soul, you can go! Thanks for the ride!" Soul flashed a thumbs-up, then kicked his bike into gear and roared off.

"That boy is going to get himself killed one day, riding without a helmet," Stein said with a sigh. "Come in, Miss Albarn."

"Thank you." Maka stepped inside and Stein closed the door. It was only after Maka had walked into the kitchen that Stein had realized his mistake.

"Ommygosh!" Maka gasped, dropping her bag of books on the floor in her shock. "No way!"

Chrona stared at Maka, and Maka stared back. "M-M-Me?"

"You're the girl I found in the alley!" Maka exclaimed. "I'm so glad you're alright! Well, my mom said you were alright but still—! What are you doing here?! Mom told me you lived in Los Angeles!"

Chrona's eyes widened and darted between Maka, Marie, and her father. Stein calmly took the situation under his control. "Chrona is staying with us while her family is dealing with some issues," he explained. "She'll be going to Shibusen starting next week."

Maka smiled happily and went over to Chrona and hugged her. "You totally have to hang out with my friends and me sometime!!!" Stein's daughter squirmed uncomfortably in her grasp.

"I don't know how to deal with girls hugging me!" she whined plaintively. "P-Please let go!"

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Maka released Chrona from her embrace. "A bit sensitive, huh?"

"I-I-I-I-It's okay," Chrona stuttered.

"Well, this is an interesting development!" Marie chimed in with a smile. "It's great Chrona will have a friend on the first day of school. Maka-chan, would you like something to eat?"

"Oh, sure!" Maka chirped, pulling up the stool next to Chrona. "Thank you, Marie-sensei!"

"No problem." Marie turned back to the stove and a few minutes later, she put two plates in front of the girls. "Eat up!"

"Thank you, Marie-sensei! It looks great!"

"Th-Thank you, Miss Marie . . ."

Stein's wife smiled before going to refill her husband's coffee mug. "Franken, do you want anything?"

"Besides a cigarette?"

Marie sighed. "You know you can't, and you know _why,_ too."

"Doesn't mean I don't want one," Stein replied before taking a sip of his coffee and turning the page of his newspaper. "And I'm the one with the degree."

"Doesn't seem like it, sometimes."

Maka snickered, then leaned over to Chrona and whispered, "They do this all the time." Chrona nodded dumbly, not sure how to deal with this breach of personal space. Thankfully for her, Maka straightened and removed herself from Chrona's bubble.

"Let me rephrase that question," Marie said with a sigh. "Do you want something to eat?"

"I'm fine, Marie," Stein replied, looking back at his paper. "Coffee is perfectly acceptable."

"Alright." Marie turned from her husband to her student. "After you're done, Maka-chan, what would you like to work on first? You said yesterday there were several things you needed help with?""

Maka nodded, twirling the end of one of her ponytails around her finger. "I'm having trouble in Science and Math."

"I can help you with Math," Marie said with a smile, "and Franken can help you with Science, can't you, sweetheart?"

"Uh huh." Stein didn't look up from his paper.

The young Shibusen student smiled. "Thank you, Stein-hakase."

"No problem."

Chrona poked at her food morosely. She did eat some, as she was hungry, but not knowing how to deal with this alien concept of family and friends was putting her off her appetite. And Maka. She wasn't sure how to deal with her either.

The pink-haired teenager fiddled with the bandage on the temporary splint her father had made for her the day before. He was so nice, even though she had entered so suddenly into his life and no doubt become a burden to him. Chrona surveyed Maka and Marie discussed the second level of Algebra, a foreign concept to her. She'd only gotten to the first level of Algebra, and she'd barely passed that.

She was nervous. She wanted to scream, cry, do _something_, but she couldn't, not without making a scene and drawing unwanted attention that she definitely wouldn't know how to deal with. She needed a way out. Now.

She glanced around to make sure no one was looking at her, then dug her nails, which were sharp for this very purpose, into the wrist that wasn't bandaged. The pain brought immediate relief, but it wasn't enough. She dug deeper, and had almost broken the skin when a strong hand grasped her wrist and pulled her arm away.

Chrona looked to her left into the green eyes of her father. He shook his head sternly and frowned, reprimanding her silently. The girl shrank back, afraid of more punishment in the form of a strike.

But it never came. Stein simply released her wrist and went back to reading the paper. Marie and that girl, Maka, hadn't noticed a thing. They were too busy working through a problem together to pay any attention to what she had been doing.

The lavender-haired teen went back to picking at her breakfast. It was good; much better than anything anyone at home could make. Her mother tended to poison whatever she cooked, not enough to kill, but enough to make anyone who ate it sick as a dog the next day. Free was the one who usually did most of the cooking; at least his food was edible.

Stein closed the paper and reached for the television remote. He turned it on and flipped to the news channel. The news report brought Chrona a welcome relief from the plate of food in front of her. Maka and Marie finished working on Algebra II and Maka came over to Stein carrying her science textbook.

"Biology?" Stein asked, opening the book and flipping through it. "Aren't you a sophomore?"

Maka blushed. "I took Chemistry freshman year."

"Ah, I see. Now what do you need help with?"

Maka started to explain her issues with DNA, and Chrona zoned out again. She didn't care about school. Her wrists seemed to burn.

"Not hungry, Chrona?" The girl jumped and turned. Marie smiled at her and repeated the question. Chrona shook her head. "I'll put it in the fridge then, and you can eat it later, 'kay?"

"O-Okay . . ."

Marie smiled and whisked the plate away. Chrona went back to watching her father help Maka. Suddenly, the girl's green eyes light up as she understood what Stein was explaining. The silver-haired doctor smirked slightly and tapped the side of Maka's head.

"It's all in there," he told her. "You've just got to find it in here—" he tapped the book "—and put it up in your head. Unlike your father, who continues to this day to be ignorant about some things."

Maka nodded earnestly. "Yes. I will be smarter than my papa! Thank you, Stein-hakase!"

"No problem." Stein shrugged and went back to his newspaper. Not long after, the news channel chimed its "Important Update!" line. Everyone in the room turned to face the screen and listened.

"This just in!" the news reporter said excitedly. "The gang of criminals, formally known as 'The Vectors'—but who are now calling themselves 'The Witches'— has sent a CD to this news station with a message for the public! Please listen."

The screen cut over to a completely blank screen with a red symbol made of circles and triangles. Stein fumbled for the remote and turned up the volume. Everyone in the room stared at the TV.

"Our leader was brutally murdered by one of our own," growled a deep male voice, his voice magnified by the volume. Chrona gulped; she recognized the voice to be Free's. "We are hunting for that traitor. They have been warned that when we find them, we will kill them just like they did our leader. We'll kill them . . . and anyone who gets in our way."

The screen went blank and was soon filled with the anxious face of the news anchor. But Chrona heard nothing of what the lady said about the message and its untraceable origins, for she had fainted dead away.

* * *

**A/N: **DUN DUN DUN.


	11. Chapter 10

**Title: **Past Hauntings

**Rating: **T

**By: **ToastWeaselofDOOM

**Summary: **AU. Franken Stein has everything. A wonderful wife, a house, and a respectable job. But this could all change when a mistake he made fifteen years ago comes back to haunt him.

**Warning:** As this is an AU, character's might be a tad OOC in order to fit into society and general living. I've tried to fit their abilities into the story best as I could, but there is always a few people who freak over these things, so I warn you now. I repeated, _CHARACTERS MIGHT BE A BIT OOC_. This also contains a bunch of my favourite pairings including (but not limited to) SteinMarie, SteinMedusa, SoulMaka, MarieSteinMedusa, etc etc. My beta(s) are very busy and can't beta everything on time all the time, so sometimes chapters will be published unbeta'd.

If you have a problem with one or more of these pairings, or with it the characters being OOC, or with it not being beta'd, I'm implore you, DO NOT FLAME ME IF YOU CONTINUE ON AND READ THIS. It will have been your fault for not reading my warnings and A/N before you read. Thank you! ^^

**A/N:**I got so many compliments from Kit this chapter I wasn't quiet sure what to do with myself. SHE DIDN'T YELL AT ME THE WHOLE CHAPTER, HOLY CRAP. -ahem- Anyway, second chapter to your Holiday present~! Enjoy~!

**THIS CHAPTER WAS BETA'D **by ~Desert(dot)Moon. Luffs, hun!

* * *

Chapter 10

'Chrona. Hey, Chrona. Chrona!" She was vaguely aware of a voice calling her name. Who was it? She couldn't tell. "Chrona, wake up!"

She didn't know what was happening, or how her body responded so quickly, but before she knew it she was sitting bolt upright. Her grey eyes were wide from her primal fright. She looked around; that girl Maka was kneeling beside her, a smile on her face. Marie and Stein were standing at the foot of the – couch? She was on the couch? Why was she there?

Chrona looked to the adults for answers. Marie's features showed her nervousness, but she smiled when Chrona's eyes connected with her own. Her father had a look of cool indifference about him; but his eyes, olive-green orbs almost completely hidden by the glare off of his glasses, told the real story.

"What happ—?"

"You fainted," Maka supplied. "Scared us a bit. You okay?"

"Chrona, please lay back down," Stein ordered her. "Maka, go run the cloth under cool water again." Maka nodded and took the washcloth, which had fallen from Chrona's head, to the kitchen sink. The other teenager obeyed her father and lowered her body back down onto the cushions.

Marie hovered at the end of the couch. "You scared us, Chrona."

"Sorry," Chrona muttered. Marie smiled and circled to stand next to the girl.

"You alright, sweetheart?" Chrona nodded. "Good, I'm glad." Marie smiled, but Chrona's view of her was obscured by Maka leaning down and laying a cool washcloth on her forehead.

"Th-Thank you," Chrona said almost in a whisper. Maka smiled before moving to let Marie pull an afghan over the teenager and tuck her in.

"Just rest for right now," Marie told her, brushing a warm hand on Chrona's cheek and giving her a maternal smile. The young girl did her best not to flinch at the touch. She was getting so much attention, all at once. It was disconcerting, and she wasn't sure she would be able to deal with it for much longer.

"Marie, stop hovering," Stein told his wife in an amused tone, although his reason for what he said was serious. He could see his daughter's panic level rising, and he didn't want her to faint again.

The blonde-haired woman smiled sheepishly and straightened. "Sorry." She moved to stand next to her husband.

Chrona couldn't tolerate everyone looking at her, so she squeezed her eyes shut to avoid their gazes. She heard her father say something in a low voice, but she couldn't make out the words.

"Alright." Marie was talking. "Maka-chan, can you come downstairs into the den with me? There's something I want to show you."

"Okay." Chrona felt movement and heard two sets of footsteps going down the flight of stairs behind her.

"You can open your eyes now, Chrona." Her father's voice was right beside her, quiet. She hadn't heard him walk over and started suddenly when he spoke. Stein bit back a smirk.

"St-Stein-hakase," his daughter whimpered. "I don't know how to deal with what's going on!" He could see the tears filming her eyes. She was starting to panic.

"I'm not going to let anyone hurt you," Stein told her firmly. "Don't worry about that."

"O-Okay . . ."

"Let me look at your arm," Stein said, motioning for her to extend her arm.

"W-Which one?"

"The one that's in the splint," the doctor said with a tone that it was obvious. He knew what she was implying, but he wasn't going to talk with her about that just yet.

Chrona wiggled her arm out of the blankets and held it out for her father. He took it and began to unravel the bandages. Once they were clear, he began to probe at her arm.

"Does this hurt?" he queried occasionally. Chrona shook her head each time he asked. "Flex your wrist." His daughter did so. "Any pain?"

"No . . ."

Stein nodded. "Good. Based on what I felt yesterday, and what you've said today, I'm almost one hundred percent sure your arm isn't broken. We might want to keep it wrapped for a few more days, just in case."

As he began to rewrap her arm again, his glanced at the crisscrossing scars on the inside of her arms. He shook his head and secured the bandage. Just as he put it in place, Marie and Maka emerged from the den stairs.

"Franken, I'm going to drive Maka-chan home," Marie told her husband. "I'll be back in twenty minutes."

"Alright."

Maka picked up her bag and smiled at Chrona. "Come find me on Monday. You can hang with my friend and me, 'kay?"

"O-Okay . . ." The blonde teenager wiggled her fingers in a wave goodbye and followed her teacher out the door. A car engine started and faded as the car disappeared down the street.

"St-Stein-hakase?" Chrona's voice was quiet.

"Yes?"

"Do . . . Do I have to g-go to sc-school?"

Her father sighed. "Yes, you do. That's one law I can't bend. You won't be alone, Marie will be there."

"Wh-What about Maka?"

"She'll be there as well."

Chrona nodded, still unsure. "O-Okay . . ." The room was silent, and the young teenager laid her head down again. Before she knew it, she was fast asleep.

* * *

Stein sighed as the hot water from the shower pounded on his neck and back. The day had been long, and he would be glad for sleep. He turned the water off several minutes later and stepped from the shower, then wrapped a towel around his waist and left the bathroom.

Marie was just sliding her nightshirt on when he entered the bedroom. She turned when he came up behind her and rose on her toes to kiss him. Stein kissed her back for a moment before breaking it.

"You alright, Franken?" Marie asked as her husband pulled his sleeping pants on. "You haven't been yourself all afternoon."

Stein shrugged. "I'm just . . . worried, I guess, about Chrona."

"About what?" Marie queried as he dropped his towel in the hamper. His hair dripped on his chest as he stood next to the bed.

"You haven't seen her arms, have you?"

"What's wrong with them?"

"She's a cutter." Marie gasped slightly. "It's from everything she's been going through, I'm almost certain. Everything just piles up and she needs a way to escape the pain . . . so she cuts herself."

"But doesn't that cause her more pain?" His wife looked confused.

Stein shook his head. "No. Cutters focus on the pain from the cut as a way to get rid of the pain in their lives. It is similar to if you stub your toe. If you bite your lip, you feel the pain in your lip instead of the pain in your toe. Also, cutting releases endorphins that make the cutter feel happier. That's why they do it."

Marie nodded. "So Chrona does that . . . ?"

Her husband nodded. "I saw her trying to do it earlier, but I stopped her."

"Why?" the blonde asked, looking concerned. Stein shrugged.

"I don't know. I think it's the whole thing happening so suddenly. She just couldn't take it anymore."

"Do you want me to talk to her?" Marie asked, putting a hand on his bare arm. "I can if you want me to."

The doctor shook his head. "No, not just yet. I think that would just make it worse. Maybe, after a little while, but not just now. Now, let's go to bed, I'm tired, and I'm sure you are too."

His wife crawled into bed, as did he. Marie turned off the light and they settled together in the dark. Stein draped a pale arm over her waist. A few minutes later he began to caress her lightly, hiding an almost sadistic pleasure as she shivered under his touch.

"Franken, what are you doing?" Marie whispered in a fierce tone as his hand traveled higher up her body. "Chrona's across the hall!"

"We'll be quiet," Stein murmured, sliding his hand under his wife to flip her onto her back. He kissed her and the blonde relented, kissing back before sliding her hands into his silver hair.

Several minutes later, they were still and Marie murmured, "I love you, Franken" in his ear.

Stein turned his head and looked at his wife. Her face's flush was visible even in the darkness, and a bead of sweat rolled down her cheek as he watched. "I love you, too."

* * *

**A/N: **Yes, what you did believe to have happened at the end of this chapter happened. Hurrrrr. :3 All you SteinxMarie fangirls have permission to go die now. :3

Happy holidays and Merry Christmas to those who celebrate~!

-Toasty


	12. Chapter 11

**Title: **Past Hauntings

**Rating: **T

**By: **ToastWeaselofDOOM

**Summary: **AU. Franken Stein has everything. A wonderful wife, a house, and a respectable job. But this could all change when a mistake he made fifteen years ago comes back to haunt him.

**Warning:** As this is an AU, character's might be a tad OOC in order to fit into society and general living. I've tried to fit their abilities into the story best as I could, but there is always a few people who freak over these things, so I warn you now. I repeated, _CHARACTERS MIGHT BE A BIT OOC_. This also contains a bunch of my favourite pairings including (but not limited to) SteinMarie, SteinMedusa, SoulMaka, MarieSteinMedusa, etc etc. My beta(s) are very busy and can't beta everything on time all the time, so sometimes chapters will be published unbeta'd.

If you have a problem with one or more of these pairings, or with it the characters being OOC, or with it not being beta'd, I'm implore you, DO NOT FLAME ME IF YOU CONTINUE ON AND READ THIS. It will have been your fault for not reading my warnings and A/N before you read. Thank you! ^^

**A/N:** Torturing Kid along with nerdy D&D bags in comments made by Kit-beta aside, I post two more chapters at once, 'CAUSE IT'S MY BIRTHDAY! I GIVE YOU GUYS A GIFT. ....wait, isn't it supposed to go the other way around? Oh well. Enjoy.

**THIS CHAPTER WAS BETA'D **by ~Desert(dot)Moon. Luffs, hun!

* * *

Chapter 11

**-Two Days Later, Monday-**

"Chrona. Hey, sweetheart, it's time to get up. Chrona." The young girl rolled over and muttered something incoherent. "Chrona." Marie touched her shoulder lightly, and the girl shot up.

"M-M-Miss Marie!" she stuttered. "W-what—?"

"It's time to get up," Marie replied. "School starts for you today. Wakey, wakey, sweetheart. Hop in the shower, change, and there'll be food waiting for you when you come into the kitchen, alright?"

Chrona nodded sleepily and swung her legs out of bed. A quick shower later, she changed into the clothes Marie had bought her the day before. She poked her head into the hallway; determining that no one was in sight, she dashed across the hallway.

Once in the bedroom she slinked into the connecting bathroom; it didn't take long before she found what she was looking for. Razorblades. A whole bagful of disposable razorblades. A jackpot in her eyes. She stole one from the open bag and slid it into the pocket of her jeans, then raced back to her room.

She sat on the bed, reveling in the success of her mission and willing her heart rate back to normal. Once she was certain she was calmed down, she went down the hallway to the main room. Her father was sitting at the counter, reading the morning paper before he went to work. Marie was at the stove, and turned around with a pot full of food just as Chrona came in.

"Good morning, Chrona~!" Marie sang as she put food onto three plates. "Perfect timing, breakfast is ready!" Chrona nodded silently and sat down at the counter next to her father.

He closed his paper and looked at her critically. "Good morning."

"G-Good morning, St-Stein-hakase," the girl stuttered. She was glad of the distraction from the plate of food that Marie placed in front of her with a cup of milk. "Th-Thank you, Miss Marie . . ."

Marie smiled at Chrona and went to refill Stein's coffee mug, then put it and a plate of breakfast in front of her husband. "Remember, when we're at school it's 'Marie-sensei,' alright?"

The girl nodded and began to eat slowly. After she was done, she went to her room until Marie came and told her it was time to go. Stein was getting ready to go as well; he shared a kiss with Marie and said goodbye to his daughter before taking his thermos of coffee and heading off to work.

The car ride to the school was silent. Chrona sat in the front passenger seat, and constantly fiddled with the handle of the new bag that Marie had bought her the day before as well. Sunday had been a day of shopping, for both clothes and school supplies for Chrona. The girl was glad about the new clothes, because she had always hated that dress her mother had made her wear. Now she was wearing jeans, a t-shirt, and a black zip-up hoodie. She thought it suited her better than the dress, and it certainly fit Ragnorak better.

"So, Chrona," Marie said as she drove, "are you excited for your first day?"

The lavender-haired girl shrugged.

"I'll take you to the front office," the woman continued on. "You'll get your schedule there, and then you'll go to class, 'kay?"

Chrona nodded, fidgeting with the sleeves of her hoodie. Marie noticed this but chose not to comment, even though she wanted to. The rest of the ride was dead silent, with only the sound of the engine to break the still. As they pulled into the parking lot of Shibusen, Chrona's eyes grew wide.

The school was multiple stories tall and covered with red spikes, comical white skulls, and many windows. The teenager idly noted that the main doors were automatic, sliding open as she followed Marie inside. Chrona's eyes grew wider still when she saw the inside of the building.

The inside of the school almost looked like the interior of a modern castle. Bright pale yellow walls held candles in golden candlesticks. Wooden beam were purposefully exposed and created a highly-arched ceiling; many staircasesreached to the upper levels. The wide hallways were crowded with students, and Chrona's anxiety levels jumped a few notches.

"Bit overwhelming, huh?" Marie asked with a gentle smile. The girl nodded wordlessly. "That was my reaction when I first came here. Follow me to the office."

Chrona trailed after her father's wife, doing her best to stay out of everyone's way. Marie led her into the office, and signed in before talking to a woman with dark skin and braided hair. The woman smiled at Chrona and beckoned her over to a computer. The girl wordlessly followed her and the woman started compiling Chrona's schedule.

After asking many questions about the classes she'd had at her old school, the woman finally finished. She clicked print, and several minutes later gave Chrona her schedule, a slip to be signed by all of her teachers, and a several-page school map. During this, Marie had disappeared to supervise her homeroom.

"Do you think you can find your homeroom by yourself?" the woman asked Chrona.

The girl didn't think she could, but found herself nodding anyway. The woman smiled. "Well then, welcome to Shibusen High School."

When Chrona stepped from the office into the hallway, she was immediately overwhelmed. This school was so much bigger than the one she attended in Los Angeles, and it was full of people. They all dressed in the weirdest styles, and many had odd hair colors. The girl realized with a jolt that her weird purple-pink hair color would be right at home among the greens, pinks, and blues of her classmates.

However, this fact gave her little comfort. Her anxiety levels rose steadily from being surrounded by so many people, and they were about to spill over when—"Chrona!"

The girl's head snapped up and she turned to see Maka running towards her. The blonde was wearing a plaid mini-skirt and black boots, much different from the jeans and t-shirt she had come to Stein's house in. A pale yellow sweater-vest, a dress shirt, and a green-and-silver tie peeked out from under the long-sleeved coat Maka wore. A messenger bag was slung over her shoulder, and she was grinning.

"Chrona, hey!" Maka drew level with her and went to hug Chrona, but then remembered the other teenager's dislike of being touched physically.

"M-Maka . . . h-hi . . ."

"Lost?" the blonde asked her. Chrona nodded hesitantly. "That's okay. Shibusen's a confusing place for newcomers. I'll show you around, but first, lemme introduce you to my friends!" Maka took Chrona by the hand and guided her through the throng of students and up several flights of stairs.

She dragged the new student into a classroom and towards a group of kids. The fellow teenagers stopped in their conversations and looked at them. Chrona's heartbeat ran to beat the band and her hands were clammy as Maka said,

"Hey, guys! This is Chrona, that girl I found a few months ago!" The group murmured as Maka began introductions. "Alright, the guy with the white hair is Soul—"

"Yo."

"—Tsubaki is the tall girl with the black hair—"

"Hi, it's nice to meet you."

"—the boy with blue hair is Black*Star—"

"Yahoo! I'm gonna surpass God!" Chrona flinched. This boy was _loud_.

"—the boy with the black hair with stripes is Death the Kid—" The teenager's golden eyes were twitching. "—the blondes over there are Liz and Patti, Liz is the older of the two—"

Liz waved with her nail file and Patti giggled. "Hiya!"

"—the girl with pink hair is Kim and the black-haired girl next to her is her best friend, Jackie—"

"Nice to meet you," the two girls chorused.

"—the boy with the mini dreads and cornrows is Kilik—" He greeted her the way Soul had. "—the boy with sunglasses is Harver—" Silence. "—and the guy with the twin spikes and glasses is Ox. Everyone, this is Chrona. She's staying with Marie-sensei and her husband a while."

Chrona fidgeted under their scrutiny. One of the boys, the one with the black hair with stripes, stared at her intently. Finally he stepped up to her.

"Chrona, right?" His voice was cool and formal; she nodded hesitantly. "You are wonderfully symmetrical, from your shoes to your hoodie. However, there is one problem . . . your hair. It is horrible and asymmetrical and, and, and please let me cut your hair so you may be symmetrical! Please, please!" The teenager was on his knees, begging.

"I'll do anything!" Kid continued. "Just let me cut your—hrk!!!" Maka had grabbed the back of his blazer jacket and tugged him back to his feet.

"Give it a rest, Kid," Maka told him as the boy hurriedly readjusted his blazer.

"B-But, Maka! Her hair is completely asymmetrical! It's trashy, it's, it's—"

"You're asymmetrical."

Kid hit the tiled floor as if an air raid siren had sounded. He beat the ground with his fist and sobbed, "I'm worthless scum! Dammit . . . Depressed . . . die." Black*Star sat on the weeping boy while Liz and Patti did their best to cheer him up.

"I-Is he okay?" Chrona murmured.

"He's _fine_," Maka replied. "He does this all the time." Chrona nodded as the Thompson sisters assured Kid that it wasn't the end of the world.

"What's your schedule like?" Maka asked Chrona while Kid finally got up from the floor. The lavender-haired girl wordlessly passed her schedule to Maka, who took it and looked it over.

While Maka scanned her schedule, eyes moving rapid-fire across the page, Chrona looked around the room. Kid was yelling at Black*Star, who was yelling back, and Tsubaki was trying to quiet the two boys down. Liz had gone back to filing her nails, Patti was grinning like a madman. Kim and Jackie were talking, and Ox was hovering near them, eyeing Kim like a lovesick puppy. Soul and Kilik were conversing also, while Harver stood near them, reading.

Chrona studied Soul. She had never seen hair that white before, or teeth that sharp, or irises that shade of blood red. He was a curiosity, an oddity. She wanted to know more. Inside her, Ragnorak stirred.

"_**Cut him open, let's see his blood!"**_ the personality ordered her_**. "Let me take over, I'll do it!"**_

'No, go away!'

"_**Just for a little while!"**_

"No!" Her voice was quiet but forceful. Ragnorak disappeared into her subconscious.

"What was that, Chrona?" Maka had heard. "Something wrong?"

"N-No, nothing wrong!"

"Sure?"

"Yeah . . ."

"Alright." Maka went back to reading and Chrona looked back at Soul. He was looking straight at her. When their eyes connected, he frowned and glared at her. His eyes seemed to say, 'Why does Maka like a weirdo like you?' The pink-haired teen broke the eye contact and stared at the floor.

"You're in Basic Geometry?" Maka asked. Chrona nodded. "You have the same Basic Geometry class as Black*Star, and a bunch of classes with the rest of us. Awesome, I can show you around!"

"Y-You'd do that?"

"Yeah, sure!"

"Th-Thank you . . ." Maka smiled at her and looked at the clock.

"Oh, hey, we should get to homeroom. You're in my homeroom, cool, huh?" Maka smiled and picked up her bag. "Follow me. Hey, Soul, let's go!"

Soul grumbledand said goodbye to Kilik, then grabbed Black*Star's collar and hauled him after Maka. Chrona followed close behind and Soul glared at her. Chrona shivered and walked quickly to catch up to Maka.

* * *

**A/N # 2:** Kid. He's fun as hell to torture. Just a little back thing, Chrona's got a low C in Basic Geometry. Black*Star has a D. 8D ...and a possible conflict brewing? FIND OUT.

P.S. Chapters 11 & 12 were one giant chapter but I cut them in half because of the size, so they a bit short. GOMEN. Dx


	13. Chapter 12

**Title: **Past Hauntings

**Rating: **T

**By: **ToastWeaselofDOOM

**Summary: **AU. Franken Stein has everything. A wonderful wife, a house, and a respectable job. But this could all change when a mistake he made fifteen years ago comes back to haunt him.

**Warning:** As this is an AU, character's might be a tad OOC in order to fit into society and general living. I've tried to fit their abilities into the story best as I could, but there is always a few people who freak over these things, so I warn you now. I repeated, _CHARACTERS MIGHT BE A BIT OOC_. This also contains a bunch of my favourite pairings including (but not limited to) SteinMarie, SteinMedusa, SoulMaka, MarieSteinMedusa, etc etc. My beta(s) are very busy and can't beta everything on time all the time, so sometimes chapters will be published unbeta'd.

If you have a problem with one or more of these pairings, or with it the characters being OOC, or with it not being beta'd, I'm implore you, DO NOT FLAME ME IF YOU CONTINUE ON AND READ THIS. It will have been your fault for not reading my warnings and A/N before you read. Thank you! ^^

**A/N:** You guys get to find out what Azusa's been making Soul do in detention. Heeheeheeheehee. *laughs maniacally*

**THIS CHAPTER WAS BETA'D **by ~Desert(dot)Moon. Luffs, hun!

* * *

Chapter 12

**-Shibusen High School, End of Third Period-**

"Chrona, stay after for a moment please." The girl froze, then walked slowly to Marie's desk. Maka lingered in the doorway. "Maka-chan, you can stay, too." Maka nodded and made her way back in to room.

"How is your day going, Chrona?" the teacher asked with a smile.

"O-Okay, I guess. . ."

"Maka's been showing you around?" Chrona and Maka nodded simultaneously. "Good, good. Thank you, Maka."

"No problem."

"Chrona, after school, please find me, 'kay?"

Chrona nodded again. "O-Okay."

"I'll walk her up here!" Maka piped up.

"Thank you, Maka," Marie said with a smile. She scribbled out a pass and handed it to the two girls. "Get going to class. Have a good day."

"Yeah, you too, Marie-sensei!" Maka chirped. "C'mon, Chrona!"

Chrona whispered, "'Bye, Marie-sensei," before following Maka out the door.

* * *

Maka waited ten minutes after the end-of-school-day bell sounded before leading Chrona out into the halls. She knew her new friend was severely enochlophobic, so she made sure they waited until Shibusen's corridors were almost completely deserted before venturing out into them.

The two girls descended two floors to the home economics wing and walked down the long corridor to Marie's classroom. They found the doors to the room locked and the lights out.

"She's not here," Maka muttered. "Hmm . . . then she's either in the teacher's lounge or the Library. We'll try the Library first. Besides, I wanna show you something there, Chrona."

"O-Okay." Chrona followed Maka down an endless maze of twisting passages before reaching the Library. Maka pulled on the handle of one of the massive doors and held it open for Chrona. The two girls immediately saw Soul when they walked in. He had an apron (and a frilly one at that) over his regular clothes and was dusting bookshelves with a scowl on his face.

"C'mon, Chrona, we can browse while Mr. Maid over there dusts."

"I heard that, Maka!" Soul yelled. "Shut up!"

"Evans!" a sharp voice barked. "No talking! Get back to work!"

"Yes, Principal Azusa," Soul muttered.

Maka grinned and led Chrona to the back of the library. She grabbed the pink-haired girl's hand to stop her and put a finger to her lips. She peeked quickly around the corner and giggled. The blonde tapped Chrona's shoulder and pointed at the romance section. Marie was sitting on a stool, getting teary-eyed over whatever book she was reading.

"She does this all the time," Maka breathed in Chrona's ear. "C'mon, let's go before she notices us." She led Chrona quietly back to the front of the library.

Soul was still dusting and shot the giggling Maka the dirtiest look he could muster. Shibusen's Principal, Yumi Azusa, was watching the white-haired teenager work, making sure he didn't cut any corners. Her eyes drifted over Chrona, and she frowned slightly.

"Maka, who is this?" The bespectacled woman nodded in the pink-haired girl's direction. The aforementioned teenager shrank under Azusa's scrutinizing gaze.

"Chrona Gorgon," Maka replied. "She's staying with Marie-sensei and Stein-hakase for a while."

Azusa looked Chrona up and down, frowning. Her glasses flashed as she said, "Marie's told me about you. You wouldn't happen to be related to Medusa Gorgon, would you?"

Chrona froze. Her eyes widened, palms grew clammy, and her heart raced as she stammered, "N-N-N-No, Ma'am."

The dark-eyed woman gave her a stern look. "I see. Very well. Take a good look at Mr. Evans, Miss Gorgon. That is what happens when you misbehave in my school. You two may continue—Evans, don't slack off!"

"Who's Medusa Gorgon?" Maka asked as their principal berated their friend. "Let's start our homework."

Chrona ignored her friend's first question and let herself be led to a work table. "O-Okay." The two teenagers took their books out and began.

The pink-haired girl put her Geometry homework off for last. When she had completed everything else, she looked at the subject's textbook with dread. She gulped, then pulled it towards her and began to struggle through problems.

Maka noticed her floundering and leaned over. "Need some help, Chrona?"

The other flushed with embarrassment. "I don't know how to deal with Geometry," she whispered softly. Maka laughed and reached for the textbook.

"Don't worry, Chrona, I'll help you. Now, what are you having trouble with?"

* * *

Doctor Franken Stein knocked on his daughter's bedroom door before pushing it open. He had just gotten home from work, and still wore his labcoat and shoes, but he had wanted to check up on Chrona. His child was sitting on her bed, reading a textbook. The doctor noticed her almost frantic hiding of the book once he entered; it almost amused him.

"St-Stein-hakase!" Chrona stuttered. "Wh-What are you—"

"Doing here?" The silver-haired man leaned on the doorframe of the room. "I wanted to check to see how you were."

"Oh . . ." Chrona looked at her feet. "Th-Thank you."

"How was your day?"

Chrona shrugged. "O-Okay . . . Maka helped me . . . She helped deal with stuff."

Stein nodded. "Good . . . good. Anything else?" Chrona shook her head. "What were you reading before I came in?"

His daughter's face pinked. "M-My t-textbook . . . f-for E-English."

The doctor nodded once again. "Alright, you can continue with that. Marie will call you for dinner in a little while."

"O-Okay." Stein straightened and the door closed. Footsteps sounded and faded as he walked down the hallway. Chrona stared at the closed door in awe.

At home, reading of textbooks was frowned upon. It was the reason she hadn't done well in school . . . at home. But here . . . there was no gang, there was no Medusa, there was no . . . Medusa. . . . Ragnorak stirred inside her and the teenager did her best to repress him. Memories of past beatings for studying flooded into her brain and she curled up into a ball and rocked until they subsided.

Once she could move Chrona stumbled from the bed into the connecting bathroom. She dug in her jeans pocket and pulled out the razor she had swiped earlier in the day. A few deft movements later and she held a bare blade in her hands.

She sat on the edge of the bathtub, tugged up her sleeve, and the blade met flesh. Crimson streamed down her arm and dripped onto her sweatshirt. There was a reason Chrona only wore black.

* * *

**A/N #2:** Ends with a sad note, I'm sorry. Dx But yeah. Soul's been dusty in frilly aprons. 8D ..there's also another bit, but you have to wait to see what it is. But I assure you, it's pure torture. And that torture STARTED IN THE 12th CENTURY. Got the general idea? ;D

P.S. Chapters 11 & 12 were one giant chapter but I cut them in half because of the size, so they a bit short. GOMEN. Dx


	14. Chapter 13

**Title: **Past Hauntings

**Rating: **T

**By: **ToastWeaselofDOOM

**Summary: **AU. Franken Stein has everything. A wonderful wife, a house, and a respectable job. But this could all change when a mistake he made fifteen years ago comes back to haunt him.

**Warning:** As this is an AU, character's might be a tad OOC in order to fit into society and general living. I've tried to fit their abilities into the story best as I could, but there is always a few people who freak over these things, so I warn you now. I repeated, _CHARACTERS MIGHT BE A BIT OOC_. This also contains a bunch of my favourite pairings including (but not limited to) SteinMarie, SteinMedusa, SoulMaka, MarieSteinMedusa, etc etc. My beta(s) are very busy and can't beta everything on time all the time, so sometimes chapters will be published unbeta'd.

If you have a problem with one or more of these pairings, or with it the characters being OOC, or with it not being beta'd, I'm implore you, DO NOT FLAME ME IF YOU CONTINUE ON AND READ THIS. It will have been your fault for not reading my warnings and A/N before you read. Thank you! ^^

**A/N:** Oh god. This chapter. You guys might want tissues, specially towards the end. I apparently made Kit cry, and while she is sick, that is not a good thing. I'M SORRY, KIT. DX IFEELSOBADOMG.;;; Just warning people, after this chapter....it's gonna get darker, and it's gonna get darker FAST. Action starts next chapter! Whoo!~ Enjoy people!

**THIS CHAPTER WAS BETA'D **by ~Desert(dot)Moon. Luffs, hun!

* * *

Chapter 13

Stein noticed her expression immediately as she walked into the kitchen an hour or so later. "Chrona," he said calmly as she stood uneasily by the counter, "is something wrong?"

His daughter's expression was one of deep guilt and apprehension as she muttered with downcast eyes, "No, sir."

The doctor sighed and pushed his glasses up to pinch the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. She was hiding something; he knew it. He had a hunch what it was, too. "Please don't lie to me, Chrona."

"I-I'm not."

"Oh really?"

Chrona nodded hesitantly. "I-I'm not h-hiding a-anything."

Stein frowned; he didn't want to push her so he let it slide. "Alright." Marie breezed into the kitchen minutes later.

"Chrona, wash up for dinner, sweetheart," she said cheerfully. The girl obeyed. Stein sighed. There was a long way to go.

* * *

Maka noticed, too. The next day was the day scheduled for PE and the class was outside. It was a warm day, nearly eighty degree Fahrenheit, and the sun beat down on the student mercilessly. Chrona wore her new hoodie zipped up over her newer gym uniform, hiding her arms and their newest _decorations _from view.

"Aren't you hot?" Maka asked as they watched Soul and Black*Star race around the track, the blue-haired teen sans a shirt. "I mean, it's almost eighty!"

Chrona shook her head, although secretly she felt like she was about to faint from heat-stroke. "N-No, I'm fine."

Twenty minutes of excruciating heat later, the teacher allowed the students to go inside to shower and change. The pink-haired teenager was careful not to let her self-inflicted injuries show as she undressed to shower and clothe herself again. She could handle (barely) the fact she was naked in front of many girls she did not know. However, she knew she couldn't handle if one of them saw her cuts and pointed them out.

The bell rang for lunch and Chrona waited for Maka to finish showering and changing. Her friend joined her several minutes later, fully clothed and ash-blonde hair drip-drying. "C'mon, Soul is saving us seats in the cafeteria!" She unthinkingly grabbed Chrona's arm, the same one the pink-haired girl had cut open the night before.

Chrona cried out in pain when the pressure from Maka's hand touched her wounds. Maka stopped and looked back at her. "Chrona, what's wrong?"

The pink-haired girl realized she'd made a mistake and tried to recover from it. "I—I accidently cut my arm last night . . . on a bunch of glass . . . It hurt when you touched it . . ."

"Is that why you wore your sweater during gym?" Maka asked, looking concerned. Chrona nodded miserably. "Can I see it?"

The girl hesitated. "Well . . ."

"More importantly, did you bandage it?" Maka gave her a critical look. Chrona shook her head. "You live with a doctor! He could have fixed it easily!"

"I didn't want to bother him with it," Chrona muttered.

Maka sighed. "Come with me." The blonde teenager took hold of the arm that wasn't injured and led Chrona from the locker rooms and down the hallway. The stopped in front of a door labeled 'Dispensary' and Maka opened the door before shepherding Chrona inside.

"Nygus-sensei, are you here?"

"One moment." A woman with dark skin and braided hair, the same woman who had given Chrona her schedule the day before, walked from the back room. "Yes, what can I do for you and your friend, Maka?"

"Chrona accidently cut herself," Maka informed the nurse. "She needs it bandaged."

Nygus nodded. "Sit down at the table. Where's the injury?"

"M-My arm. . ."

"Alright. Sit while I get supplies." Chrona sat down hesitantly while Maka stayed standing. Nygus came back with some disinfectant wash, gauze, and medical tape.

"Roll up your sleeve."

"B-But—"

"Roll up your sleeve." Chrona's grey eyes darted around before she hesitant pulled her sleeve up to reveal the lacerations. If Nygus was surprised by the extent of the damage, she kept quiet. Maka, however, had no such restraint.

"Ohmigosh, Chrona!" the blonde gasped. "Some of those are really deep! You should have told Stein-hakase!" The pink-haired teenager mumbled something.

"This was accidental, you say?" Nygus looked skeptical. Chrona nodded, and she raised a dark eyebrow. "Really." The nurse swapped the swatch of crisscrossing cuts with antiseptic. While Chrona was still reeling from the stinging sensation, taped gauze onto the slashes and wrapped it with cloth bandages.

"You should clean and bandage cuts and other wounds immediately after obtaining them," the dark-skinned woman told her sternly. "It prevents infection. Now, the two of you go eat lunch. Have a good day."

Chrona tugged her sleeve over her arm and muttered, "Thank you," before Maka dragged her from the room.

* * *

When Chrona and Marie returned home that day, they found Stein sitting at the kitchen counter.

"Franken, you're home early!" Marie exclaimed. Chrona slunk to her room while Marie kissed her husband. After the couple parted, Marie lowered her voice and said, "Franken, Mira told me at lunch that Chrona—"

"—has cut herself, I know." The doctor finished her sentence for her. "Nygus called me at work."

"Is that why you're home early?"

Stein shook his head. "No, Kami is still convinced I work myself too hard. When I finished my work, she made me go home."

Marie laughed. "That sounds like Kami . . . but what are we going to do about Chrona?"

"I . . . don't know."

"Do you want me to talk to her?" his wife asked. Stein nodded and Marie smiled. "Alright then. I'll start dinner afterwards." Stein nodded again, and Marie gave him a swift kiss before heading down the main hallway.

She knocked on the door to Chrona's room, calling, "Chrona, can I come in?"

There was silence, then, "Y-Yeah . . ."

Marie pushed the door open to find the pink-haired teenager sitting on the bed. She was hugging a pillow tightly and had her knees drawn up to her chest. "Are you okay, sweetheart?"

Chrona nodded slightly. "I'm fine."

Marie entered the room and closed the door behind her before sitting on the bed next to her. "Sweetheart, Nygus-sensei told me something today."

Chrona froze. "Uh . . . Uh h-huh . . ." She did her best to make her voice not shake.

"Do you know what she told me?"

"N-No . . ."

"She said you came to the Dispensary with Maka . . . with self-inflicted injuries. Is that true?"

The teenager shook her head. "N-No! I just f-fell, and cut my a-arm!"

Marie reached over and brushed Chrona's cheek gently with her hand. "Don't lie, Chrona. You are much too beautiful to lie. Franken and I already know about what you do to your body."

The girl flinched slightly at Marie's chest and hung her head. When she spoke, it could barely be heard. "I'm sorry."

Marie was silent then asked, "Can I ask you why you cut yourself?"

"I . . . I don't know how to deal with anything," Chrona whispered. "It's so different and I'm scared and I don't know how to deal with anything and—and—" Her words stopped abruptly as emotions took over and tears started to fall.

The blonde-haired teacher took the teenager into her arms and comforted her like she had Chrona's first day with them. "Shh, shh, shh. It's all right, sweetie, it's all right . . . It's fine . . . shhh. . ." She rubbed Chrona's back comfortingly.

"It's gonna be alright," Marie continued. "Franken and I are here, and so are Maka, and her friends . . . your new friends. I know it's probably way different here in Death City than in Los Angelos, but that's no reason for you to hurt yourself. We all want the best for you. We want you to be happy . . .

"So if you feel that you need to cut, talk to us. It'll make you feel better. I promise."

Chrona nodded from where she had her face buried in Marie's shoulder. "O-O-O-O-k-k-kay."

"You can always come talk to me," Marie said, continuing to rub the teenager's back as she calmed down. "Even during class. If you need to talk, just drop by. I'll make time. Alright?" Chrona nodded.

Marie pushed Chrona back and brushed one of the teenager's choppy bangs behind her ear. "You're a beautiful girl, Chrona. Beautiful people don't lie.

Chrona blushed. "I'm not beautiful at all," she muttered. "I'm definitely not as pretty as you, Miss Marie."

The golden-haired woman's exposed eye softened and she smiled. "You're a sweet girl."

"T-Thank you." Chrona fiddled anxiously with her sleeve.

"Can I see?" Marie asked, gesturing at Chrona's arm. The teenager pulled up her sleeve.

"Nygus-sensei covered it," she muttered, undoing the wrapping. When the bandages fell off the gauze removed, angry red cuts stood out against Chrona's pale skin. Marie made a 'tsk'ing noise.

"Oh, Chrona. . ." Marie pressed her lips to the teenager's forehead, causing her to squirm. "Do they hurt?"

"Only when touched."

"Poor thing." Marie gave her a sympathetic look. "Go get Franken to wrap it up again with clean bandages, alright?"

Chrona nodded. "Okay." Marie smiled and stood, brushing off her skirt as she did so.

"C'mon, sweetheart. He's in the kitchen." Once again, the teenager nodded as she followed Marie from the room.

Once in the kitchen, Chrona shuffled over to her father, who was typing something up on his laptop. "Um . . . Stein-hakase?"

The doctor looked up form his computer. "Yes, Chrona?"

"M-My . . . My arm . . . um . . . could you bandage it?"

Stein looked slightly surprised, but hid it quickly. "I can." He stood and retrieved the first aid kit from the cupboard. "Sit down, Chrona."

His daughter sat, and Stein pulled bandages from the kit. He sat as well and slid his daughter's sleeve up her arm. He rummaged in the box for a minute before pulling out a bottle of disinfectant. He swabbed her arm before wrapping the bandages around it.

He taped the cloth in place and with a sense of finality said, "There you are."

"Th-Thank you," Chrona mumbled, pulling her sleeve over her new bandages.

"You're welcome." Stein put the kit away and returned to his laptop; he had work to do. His daughter watched his work for several minutes before slinking back to her room to do homework.


	15. Chapter 14

**Title: **Past Hauntings

**Rating: **T

**By: **ToastWeaselofDOOM

**Summary: **AU. Franken Stein has everything. A wonderful wife, a house, and a respectable job. But this could all change when a mistake he made fifteen years ago comes back to haunt him.

**Warning:** As this is an AU, character's might be a tad OOC in order to fit into society and general living. I've tried to fit their abilities into the story best as I could, but there is always a few people who freak over these things, so I warn you now. I repeated, _CHARACTERS MIGHT BE A BIT OOC_. This also contains a bunch of my favourite pairings including (but not limited to) SteinMarie, SteinMedusa, SoulMaka, MarieSteinMedusa, etc etc. My beta(s) are very busy and can't beta everything on time all the time, so sometimes chapters will be published unbeta'd.

If you have a problem with one or more of these pairings, or with it the characters being OOC, or with it not being beta'd, I'm implore you, DO NOT FLAME ME IF YOU CONTINUE ON AND READ THIS. It will have been your fault for not reading my warnings and A/N before you read. Thank you! ^^

**A/N:** THIS CHAPTER. FINALLY, AFTER MONTHS OF PLANNING, IT HAS BEEN WRITTEN.

**THIS CHAPTER HAS NOT BEEN BETA'D**

* * *

Chapter 14

The end of November neared and Chrona began to settle into her life in Death City. Her grades in her classes rose from the help of her father, Marie, Maka, and most of the ash-blonde's friends . . . except Soul.

The white-haired teenager continued to either ignore her presence or scowl whenever he saw her, especially when she was with Maka. Chrona had spoken about his behavior with Maka, but she had said that Soul was simply jealous. She said he would get over it soon enough. Chrona wasn't so sure, but kept quiet.

"Hey, Chrona, what'd you say?" Maka asked on afternoon as they sat in the Library, an eyebrow raised.

"I-I don't think I n-need your help t-today," the pink-haired teenager muttered. "I-I understand it. . ."

"You do?" Chrona nodded. "Alright, then! If you do need help, just ask!"

The two teenaged girls work for an hour or so. Chrona only asked for help twice, and both times was for a definition from her walking dictionary of a friend. Marie popped into the Library near five-thirty and said, "Chrona, start wrapping up, sweetheart. Remember, Franken is picking us up today because my car is in the shop."

"O-Okay . . ."

"We can go rescue Soul," Maka giggled as Marie left. "I'm sure he's had enough of his torture for the day." Chrona nodded and put her textbooks in her bookbag.

"Follow me," Maka said after they left the Library. She led Chrona down a hallway to a classroom at the very end. She knocked on the door before pushing it open. Inside, a short creature, not man nor beast, dressed entirely in white was strutting in front of the podium, lecturing.

"My legend began in the twelfth century, no the eleventh, no the twelfth. It started on a Friday, no a Thursday—or was it Friday? Anyway—" In the room there was a blonde boy who was watching rapt attention. His blue eyes never left the creature as it strutted up and down the podium. Soul, however, looked as if he was about to die. Azusa was also in the room, ignoring the creature but making sure Soul didn't budge.

"Principal Azusa," Maka said, cutting over the lecturer. "It's time to go."

"Fool!" the white-clad being shouted. "Do not say when it is time to go! Only I, the great Excalibur, can make that decision!"

Azusa looked up from her book at the disturbance. "Ah, Maka. Thank you. Evans, you are free to do. Professor Excalibur, thank you for staying after and talking to the boy."

"You are very welcome! Why that reminds me of a time—"

Soul bolted from his seat as soon as the teacher began talking again. Maka and Chrona followed him as he ran down the hallways to his locker. He shrugged into his leather jacket, swung his bookbag over his shoulder, then slammed the door to his locker irritably.

"Calm down, Soul," Maka said as Chrona quailed a bit at the loud noise. "You've only got another month and then you don't have to worry."

"I hate Professor Excalibur!" the white-haired teenager growled, shoving his hands into his pockets as the began to walk towards the school entrance. "He's so uncool and annoying and he NEVER SHUTS UP."

Chrona walked quietly besides the two friends as they began to bicker. They reached the lobby where the spotted Azusa, Marie, Nygus, Stein, Sid in full police officer uniform, and a crimson-haired man standing near the office, talking. Stein jerked his head in the direction of the three teenagers and the red-haired man turned.

"Maaaaakaaaaa~~!"

"Shit!" Maka grabbed Chrona's arm and dragged her back down the hallway. She burst through a side-exit door, Chrona pulled along behind her. Soul joined them moments later and slammed the door closed.

"Dammit, Maka, your dad is so uncool!" Soul griped, panting slightly.

"I know," the ash-blonde moaned as they began to walk towards the front of the school. "He's always 'Maka this' and 'Maka that' and always acts ridiculous!"

"Um, Maka?" Chrona said quietly. "Why don't you like you father?"

"He's an uncool jerk who cheated on Maka's mom," Soul spat before Maka could say anything. "Now he's obsessed with Maka now that he's divoriced. I would think you would know that, since you spend so much time with her, you anorexic, pink-haired, emo leech! You're so uncool, you freak!"

Maka brought a book across Soul's head and she began yelling at him. Her words faded as something inside Chrona snapped. She felt Ragnorak stir deep inside her subconscious as she reached into her pocket. he world faded to black as Ragnorok took over and pulled a dagger from her pocket. The last thing Chrona remembered was rushing forward, knife raised.

* * *

"Good job, Spirit," Stein intoned dryly as he watched the blonde teenager grab his daughter and bolt down the hallway.

"Maaakaaa…." Spirit fell to his knees, looking as if he was about to cry. Nygus shook her head as Sid laughed. Marie slipped her arm into Stein's as Azusa scowled.

"Stand up, Albarn, and stop being a disgrace." Whimpering, the red-haired man hauled himself to his feet.

"Alright, Franken, let's go rescue Chrona from Soul and Maka's likely bickering," Marie said, tugging slightly on her husband's arm. Stein nodded and the couple left. As they left they saw Chrona walking with Soul and Maka under the front wing. The two aforementioned teenagers were arguing vehemently and Chrona said something. Soul snapped and said something obviously vicious.

Stein saw the movement but could do nothing to stop the knife Chrona drew and slashed across Soul's chest. Maka screamed and Marie gasped. Soul fell, blood spurting from the wound. Sid flew by Stein and Marie, down the steps, and tackled Chrona to the ground. Maka was on her knees, crying as she called Soul's name over and over.

"Marie, call nine-one-one," Stein ordered, sweeping into action. He spotted Nygus standing behind him and motioned her to follow. "Mira, help me, please." She nodded silently and hurried down the steps to where Soul lay.

Stein let the school nurse begin stemming the blood from Soul's chest. The doctor walked over to where Sid was wrestling with a very defiant Chrona. He wasn't surprised to see that her eyes were dark and an insane grin had split over her face; Ragnorok.

As Sid was handcuffing Ragnorok-Chrona's hands behind her back, the possessed girl looked up at him and grinned wider. "Heya, Frankendoc. Ain't the blood beautiful?" As the police officer hauled Chrona's body to her feet, Stein enclosed her neck with his hand. A push of a pressure point and her body fell limp.

Sid said something, but Stein had already left to help treat Soul. An ambulance screeched to a stop in front of the school about five minutes later and they whisked Soul away. Stein motioned Sid and Nygus to follow and he had a brief word with his wife, who was comforting the sobbing Maka.

"Marie, have Yumi bring you and Maka to the hospital. I'm needed there." They shared quick kiss before the doctor was gone.

Stein unlocked his car and Nygus and Sid, who had a firm grip on Chrona's unconscious form, clambered into the back. Once everyone was settled, Stein headed for the hospital. Both school nurse and police officer asked him questions, but he ignored them. Instead, he called ahead to the hospital to have them prepare a room in the psychiatric ward. Once assured the task would be complete, he snapped his cell phone closed and focused on driving.

The hospital was a flurry of activity when the arrived. Orderlies immediately convened on Stein, Nygus, and Sid as they walked through the doors. Two nurses took Sid and the unconscious Chrona upstairs while Stein went to the emergency room.

Soul's bed was crowded by nurses working to stabilize the teenager. There was gauze taped against the length of his wound and an IV in his arm. One nurse saw him standing back and detached herself from the crowd. As she neared, the doctor asked,

"His condition?"

"Stable. . . we're going to need to operate on his chest."

"I'm willing to take the operation."

The nurse stared. "Director Stein? Are you sure? I mean, you haven't operated in—"

"I did not get to be the director of this hospital by sitting o my hands. I will operate on Mister Evans."

The woman nodded hesitantly. "O-Okay I'll tell the staff that. Do you need an assistant or—"

"I do. Just prep the OR."

"Yes sir." She hurried away and the doctor went to go find Kami. He found her comforting her daughter, who was sobbing into her mother's chest. Nygus and Stein's wife stood next to them, and neither Azusa nor Sid was in sight. Stein assumed Azusa had gone home.

"Stein," Marie said as she saw him; she looked extremely worried. "What's—"

"We'll be operating on Soul shortly." Stein cut her off. "Kami, will you be able to assist me or are you busy?"

Green eyes looked up from Maka. "I think it's best if I stay with my daughter, Stein."

The doctor nodded. "Very well. Nygus." The dark-skinned woman looked at him. "Care to join me in the OR?"

Nygus' blue eyes widened. "But I'm just—"

"A licensed nurse that I've operated with in the past who works for this hospital," Stein said shortly. "I require skill for this operation. Skill I know you posses."

Nygus looked as if she was having an internal struggle. Finally, "Fine, I'll assist you."

"Good, please follow me." Stein nodded once at Kami before walking off down the hallway, labcoat billowing behind him. Nygus followed, never too far behind.

* * *

**A/N:** PLOT TWIST. *cackles*


	16. Chapter 15

**A/N: **Chapter now completed, betaed, and uploaded.

Much thanks to Desert(dot)Moon for the beta!

* * *

Chapter 15

Stein stripped the set of bloodstained latex gloves off his hands and tossed them into the biohazard can. His smock and mask joined them, and he slipped his labcoat over his shoulders as he left the washroom. After a quick trip up to his office, he descended to the ground floor and found Marie, Kami, and Maka sitting in the waiting room.

Maka jumped to her feet as soon as she saw him. "Stein-hakase! Is Soul okay? How is he? Will he—"

"Mister Evans will be fine," Stein reassured her. "He's still unconscious at the moment."

"Oh thank you!" And then Maka hugged him tightly. Stein patted her head awkwardly as she muttered, "I was so worried about him . . ."

"Sweetheart, let Stein breathe," Kami reprimanded slightly, standing to pry her daughter off the director of the hospital.

Marie stood as well and hugged her husband after he was free of Maka. She whispered in his ear, "How's Chrona?"

"As of now, I'm not sure," Stein replied quietly, an arm going to his wife's waist to be able to talk to her without being detected. "All I know for sure is that Ragnorak was controlling her when she attacked Soul."

"What are we going to do?"

"We'll have to wait and see if the Evans' press charges or not," Stein murmured.

Maka interrupted them. "Doctor Stein, do you know why Chrona attacked Soul? I mean, I know he was being rude, but he's always like that, and Chrona . . . she'd _never _hurt anyone . . . ever. What happened?"

Green eyes met gold which met emerald. Kami nodded. "Maka, Chrona has some problems you don't know about."

The teenager was instantly concerned. "Problems? What kind of problems?"

"Stein knows more about it than I do," Kami said. "Stein . . . could you . . .?"

The doctor sighed. Maka really did have the right to know. "Chrona has multiple personality disorder. You do know what that is, correct?"

Maka nodded. "Yes, I know. So her personality . . .?"

"Attacked Soul, yes. Chrona's separate personality has a name. It's Ragnorak. He's very violent." Stein was aware of Marie squeezing his hand tightly. "I don't believe he took too kindly to Mister Evans' words, and he attacked through Chrona."

"Ragnorok . . ." Maka looked thoughtful. "Okay . . . so it wasn't really Chrona who attacked Soul, right?"

"No, it wasn't," Kami said. "However, Ragnorok lies within Chrona's subconscious. The Evans' might not see it the way you see it—they believe it was Chrona who attacked Soul, not Ragnorok."

Stein took his hand off of Marie's waist and untwined their interlaced fingers. "I need to go examine Chrona. You are welcome to come along, but must wait outside the room." Then he swept off, Marie and Maka following him.

After climbing the stairs, Stein easily found the room Chrona was being kept in; Sid was standing in front of it, arms crossed. The doctor nodded at him and punched his code into the keypad next to the door. Inside the room, Chrona was slumped up on the opposite wall, in a straitjacket. Her gray eyes didn't meet his; she simply stared at her feet.

"Chrona . . ." Stein shook his head and crouched in front of her. "What am I going to do with you?" The teenager didn't speak; her gaze was firmly set at her feet.

The doctor sighed. "I need to talk to Ragnorok." From his pocket, he pulled out a video camera and placed it on the floor. He turned it on and pointed the lens at his daughter. "May I?"

She nodded and her gray eyes closed. There was silence for a moment before slowly, Chrona's face morphed into an insane grin. Her eyes were dark when they opened and said, "Heya, Frankendoc. Whatcha want?"

"I want to talk to you," Stein said calmly.

"Whata 'bout?"

"Why did you attack Mister Evans earlier today?"

"Ya mean that white-haired boy?" Ragnorok asked. "He insulted Chrona! I ain't gonna let no one insult 'er and git away with it!"

" I see." Stein sighed inwardly before speaking again. "So you took over Chrona and attacked Soul through her body?"

"Duh!" Ragnorok-Chrona's grin was wider now, more sadistic. "The blood was wonderful! Glistenin' on the blade like that . . . mmm, wonderful. So red."

"Where did you get the knife?"

"Chrona carries it on 'er at all times! For protection, y'know? She's gotta gang on 'er, neva know when they gonna strike!"

This was news to Stein. He knew about the situation with the gang, but never the knife. He frowned, wanting to know more. "Why is that, Ragnorok?"

"'Cause coupla months ago I stabbed the leader through Chrona 'cause she was abusin' 'er. The blood. Oh yeah. Didn't get to see it fer long, but the red, all over the carpet? It was great."

"So, let's get this straight. It wasn't Chrona who attacked Mister Evans?"

"Hell no! That bitch couldn't hurt a fly! It was all me! All me!" He cackled and the doctor shook his head.

"Thank you Ragnorok. You can go."

"Later, Frankendoc!" Slate eyes lightened and the grin vanished.

"St-Stein-hakase," Chrona whispered a moment or so later. "I want . . . I want to talk . . . to Maka."

The girl's father turned off the video camera and stored it in his labcoat pocket. "You'll see her as soon as I check you over."

* * *

Stein opened the door to the room and let Maka dart past him to hug his daughter. Marie slipped her arm around her husband's, and Stein raised an eyebrow.

"You're clingy today," he observed dryly.

"I'm worried about Chrona," Marie said softly, watching her two students.

"Don't be." His words were short, clipped. Marie looked at him worriedly.

"Sweetheart?"

"I am the director of this hospital. If needed, I can pull strings," Stein said with an air of finality. "So there is no need for you to be worried, Marie."

His wife sighed. "I'll try."

Meanwhile, Chrona was having issues. "Maka . . . I c-can't . . . breathe!" Maka let go of her friend immediately.

"I'm sorry! But oh my gosh, Chrona, I had no idea you had multiple personality disorder! This Ragnorok doesn't sound very nice at all!"

The pink-haired teenager goggled at Maka. "H-How do you know about Ragnorok?"

"Stein-hakase told me," Maka explained. "It sure explains a lot. And don't worry about Soul, I'll talk to him!"

Chrona nodded. "Maka. . ."

"Yeah?"

A long pause. "Never mind."

"You sure?" Maka looked at her friend with concern.

"Yeah."

"Excuse me, Miss Albarn," Stein said from the doorway, "if you wish to see Mister Evans, you will have to go now. Visiting hours are almost over."

"Oh. Okay." Maka hugged Chrona and whispered, "I'll try to visit you again soon, 'kay?"

"O . . .kay." The ash blonde smiled and stood, and walked out of the room. Stein closed the heavy steel door behind her and made sure it locked securely. After speaking several words to Sid, the doctor led the teenager to Soul's recovery room, Marie sill holding his hand.

* * *

Marie found Stein nursing a cup of vodka later that night. "You never drink, Franken. I remember you telling me something about a low alcohol tolerance on our honeymoon."

"I do sometimes," was all the doctor said as explanation.

"Can I join you?" Marie asked, gesturing at the empty seat on the patio beside him. Her husband shrugged his shoulders indifferently and the blonde took a seat next to her husband. "Honey . . ."

There was a long pause, broken by the sound of Stein taking a sip of vodka. "What, Marie?"

The doctor's wife took his hand under the table. "I know you care about Chrona, sweetheart, and so do I . . . but please don't take it out on yourself."

A green eye, slightly unfocused from the alcohol, stared at her. "What are you talking . . . about?"

"I know when you're stressed and upset," Marie told him, rubbing her thumb on his hand. "I'm married to you after all, and I can read you better than probably anyone we know. So, please, don't blame yourself about Chrona. It isn't your fault."

'If only you knew,' Stein mused inwardly, draining his glass of vodka. He reached for the pack of cigarettes on the table, but Marie grabbed them before he could.

"Oh no you don't," she chided gently. "Smoking isn't the way to relieve yourself of stress . . . and neither is drinking, for that matter." She stood and placed a chaste kiss on her husband's lips. "I'm going to bed. Please don't stay out here forever, it's supposed to get cold tonight." Another kiss and Marie went inside, taking Stein's cigarettes with her.

The doctor poured another cup of vodka and pulled a secret stash of smokes from his pocket in response. He lit up and took in a lungful of nicotine-filled smoke. Between the cigarette and the brain-numbing vodka, he slowly began to forget everything that had happened that day.

* * *

Eyes glimmered in the darkness of a pitch-black apartment. The only source of light came from the television set. On screen, a report of an assault at a high school played. At the end of the newscast, the owner of the eyes snapped the TV off.

"Eruka, make the call! We've found her sorry little ass!"

From the other room, there was a sound of movement. "Of course, geko!" The phone was picked up, and the gang member began to dial.


	17. Chapter 16

**A/N: **Beta'd by Desert(dot)Moon. Thanks, love!

* * *

Chapter 16

The first thing Stein saw when he opened the door to his office the next morning was Spirit. The red-headed lawyer was leaning against the Director's desk, sipping coffee from a mug and holding a medical textbook open over one knee. His dark-blue eyes darted up as the door closed, and Spirit snapped the book shut with a dull 'thump.'

"What are you doing here, Spirit?" The doctor and lawyer weren't on the best of terms, despite the fact that Spirit was Stein's lawyer and had to occasionally bail him out of tight places.

"Stein." Spirit's voice was serious, different from his usual happy-go-lucky demeanor. "It's about Chrona."

The doctor's hand immediately went to lock the door to his office. "What _about_ Chrona?"

"The Evans Family wishes to press charges against her."

Stein set his briefcase down on his desk before responding. "Even Master Evans?"

"Soul still hasn't regained consciousness," Spirit replied. "His mother made the decision for him." Stein muttered several colorful words under his breath.

"Our best defense is that Chrona is mentally unstable," Spirit continued on. "You told me that she had multiple personality disorder and her personality attacked Soul, right?"

"That is correct."

"Now we need to prove it," the lawyer said with a sigh.

Stein smirked and opened his desk drawer. He pulled out a video camera and handed it to Spirit. "I already have video proof. Watch." The redhead took the device and opened it. He watched the informal interview Stein had filmed the previous night.

When the video ended, Spirit let out pent-up breath. "Woah. That thing is violent. Chrona isn't on any drugs?"

"No, she isn't."

"She should be," Spirit muttered. "Any idea on what she would need?"

"A sedative," Stein replied. "However, it could effect how she performs in school, and Marie wouldn't allow that . . . and neither would I."

Spirit looked at him strangely. "You act as if she's your daughter or somethin'. Why so protective, Franky?"

Stein scowled. "None of your business."

"Oh really?" Spirit asked with a sly grin on his face.

"Focus, Spirit!" the doctor snapped. "How are we going to deal with this?"

"I guess we can put her on meds," the lawyer said with a shrug.

Stein shook his head. "We don't have parental consent. I can't prescribe anything without parental consent."

"Well, where are her parents?"

Stein paused, unsure what to say. They were in dangerous waters. "One of them is dead . . . her mother. As for her father. . ." The doctor trailed off.

"Her father?" the lawyer prompted. "What about her father?"

"Nothing."

"You know something, Stein!" Spirit cried. "Chrona _needs_ those meds! Shibusen won't let a threat back in its doors, and she won't be allowed _out of this hospital_ without them! The media already won't let it alone as it is! Stein, if you want her out of here, you need to get her those meds! Since her mom is dead, we need her father, and you know where he is."

"You aren't going to let this go, are you?" Stein asked coolly.

"No!" Spirit exclaimed loudly. "So spill! Where's her dad?"

The doctor sighed. He was backed into a corner and there was no way out. "He's right in front of you."

Spirit blinked with confusion. "What?"

"Think, Spirit. Chrona's father is me."

"WHAT?" Spirit shrieked, looking at Stein as if he had grown two heads.

"I'm Chrona's father."

"But—wh—why—when—how—WHAT?" Spirit did not seem able to form coherent sentences. "With who? When, why? Goddammit, Stein, why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"Medusa Gorgon. Christmas. Fifteen years ago. I was drunk." Stein's voice was monotonous. "Frankly, Spirit, my business is my business."

Spirit was still goggling at the doctor. "You did Medusa Gorgon?"

Stein sighed. "Yes, I 'did' Medusa Gorgon."

"I went after her for like, three years!" the laywer exclaimed. "She turned me down every damn time! How the hell did you get up her dres—wait, did you say she was _dead_?"

Stein dragged a large hand across his face. "Ragnorok killed Medusa and Chrona ran to me. I decided to take her in."

Spirit resumed staring at him. "Just like that? You decided to take care of her just like that?" Stein nodded. "Why?"

"She's my daughter and she ran to me. Isn't that what fathers are supposed to do?" Spirit was quiet. As usual, Stein's sense of what normal people were like was a bit skewed. Instead of responding, the lawyer began to flip through the pictures in the video camera.

After a while, he stopped. "Stein . . . these pictures . . . of Chrona. What happened to her?"

The doctor took the camera to look at the pictures in question. "Those are from when Maka brought Chrona to the hospital at the beginning of September. Medusa was the one who inflicted those injuries to her."

"What? You're saying Medusa Gorgon did _that_ . . . to her child?"

Green eyes closed and Stein rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Yes."

"How could—" Spirit was at a loss for words. "Her daughter . . . _her own daughter_! How brutal!"

"Medusa is the reason Ragnorok exists," Stein told Spirit, "and he doesn't like her. That's why he attacked her through Chrona and killed her."

"Why didn't we hear about her death?" the lawyer asked. "I thought the papers would have said something."

"We did." Spirit gave the doctor a strange look. "The beginning of October—the gang leader who was murdered by one of the gang's own. That leader was Medusa, and that member was Chrona."

Blue eyes widened. "Medusa . . . was the leader of a gang?" Stein nodded. "Then . . . they said they'd kill the one responsible."

"I know."

"Stein, that gang kills people! The media blasted the attack on Soul all over the country! Do you realize how much danger you're in?"

"Our issue at the moment is Chrona and her medication," Stein said coolly. "We will worry about Medusa's former gang at a later time."

Spirit looked dubious, but sighed. "Fine. Stein, you're going to have to do something."

"I know."

"So, what are you going to do?"

"I don't know."

Spirit let out a noise that sounded like groan and sigh. "Have you at least told Marie?"

"About what?"

"About how Chrona is your daughter, of course!"

"No, not yet."

Spirit slapped his palm to his face. "Stein! Why haven't you told her?"

"She doesn't need to know," Stein responded simply.

"Stein, I hid things from my wife and it got me a divorce!" the lawyer exclaimed. "Tell Marie before she finds about it herself! It'll reduce your bodily injury, I assure you!"

The silver-haired man was about to reply when there was a knock of the door. Stein went to unlock the door and opened it to find Kami on the other side. "Excuse me, Director Stein, but I—"

"Kaaaaamiiiiiiiii~!" Spirit lost whatever dignity he may have possessed and ran towards his ex-wife. His efforts were rewarded with a foot in the face, and the lawyer crumpled to the ground in a sobbing heap.

"Anyway," Kami continued as if nothing was amiss, "I was sent to inform you that Soul has awakened and the Evans family requested to see you."

"I see." Stein pushed past the nurse, his hands stuffed in his labcoat pockets. "Thank you, Kami, Spirit." The doctor swept down the hallway to the elevator. Once inside, he punched four and rode down to recovery.

Soul's recovery room was full of people. The entirety of his family seemed to be in attendance, along with all of his friends. The crowd parted to let Stein pass to the bed. Soul's chest was wrapped in bandages and the teenager was propped up against several pillows. He grinned toothily when he saw Stein. "Hey, Doc."

"Mister Evans."

"Director Stein." His name was said by a strict-looking woman with snow-white hair pulled back into a bun. Stein gathered that the white was hereditary as the woman did not look a day over thirty-five. "We've called you here to discuss the menace that attacked my son."

Stein frowned at the tone she took with him. "First, your son's attacker is named Chrona Gorgon. Second, I was informed by my lawyer that you wished to press charges."

"We do," said a formal looking man in a suit and tie.

"As the doctor to both parties, I advise against the charges," Stein said calmly, although he was craving a cigarette and fraying at the nerves.

"Why do you say that?" Mrs. Evan's snapped.

Green eyes swept the room and settled on Soul's friends. "I request only family members be here for this conversation. The rest of you, please leave."

"No." The speaker was Maka, who glared fiercely at Stein when he set his gaze on her. "I'm not leaving."

The doctor sighed. "Miss Albarn—"

"I'm not leaving," Maka repeated, crossing her arms over her chest. "My mom told me everything. I'm staying."

Stein pinched the bridge of his nose. "Fine. The rest of you non-family, please leave."

"Maka 'n' Soul'll just tell us later," Black*Star said stubbornly.

"Be that as it may," Stein said in a dangerous tone that reflected his fraying nerves, "this is an issue between Shibusen Hospital and the Evans family. I cannot control what Miss Albarn and Mister Evans tell you outside, but while you are here, you are interfering with the treatment of a patient. Please leave before I decide that you would be perfect candidates for medical test subjects." The director's glasses glinted evilly and the teenagers beat a hasty retreat from the room.

Stein continued on as if nothing of great importance had just occurred. "As I was saying, I strongly advise against persecuting Chrona Gorgon, as she—"

"I was just getting there, please do not interrupt." Another glasses glint silenced Soul's mother. "Now, I advise against prosecution because Chrona Gorgon has a condition that causes her to sporadically act violent. She is unfortunately cursed with the condition of multiple personality disorder. Being highly educated members of society, I trust you know what that is?" Four snow white-heads shook 'no' and the doctor sighed.

"Alternating personality dissociative, more commonly known as multiple personality disorder, isa dissociative disorder that is characterized by the presence of two or more distinct and complex identities, or personality states. Each of which can become dominant and control behavior from time to time to the exclusion of the other. . . Do you understand?" Four heads shook negative.

Stein turned to Maka. "Miss Albarn, I know you know what the condition is. Perhaps you could explain to the Evans in more mundane terms?"

The teenager immediately launched into explanation. "Basically, multiple personality disorder means that there is another person, or persons, living inside a person. They can take control of the person and make their bodies do things, right?"

The doctor nodded. "In a nutshell, yes. There is a bit more, but you explained all the major points. Very good, Miss Albarn.

"Now, Chrona's personality is a very violent entity named Ragnorok. I, myself, have been attacked by him before. He is the complete opposite of his host. Yesterday, Mister Evans must have said something that angered Ragnorok, so he took over Chrona's body and attacked. She had no control over him, no way to stop him."

"Do you have proof of this personality?" Soul's father asked. "That is, besides your testimony?"

"I do." Stein fished in his pocket, but remembered Spirit had it. The doctor pulled his cell phone from his pocket and called his lawyer. "Spirit? Yes, Stein. You still have my camcorder. Please bring it to Soul's recovery room on Level Four. Bring the connecting cable as well. Yes, it's in my desk drawer. Thank you." The silver-haired man snapped his phone shut and slid it back into his pocket.

"My lawyer was reviewing the film of the transition from Chrona to Ragnorok himself. There is a visible transition each time they switch," Stein explained. "Spirit is bringing the camcorder down." Mrs. Evans sniffed, crossed her arms, and glared at the doctor as if it was his fault her youngest son was currently laid up in the hospital.

After a minute or so, there was a knock on the door and Spirit entered the room. Maka froze, but the lawyer did nothing but hand Stein the camcorder and the cable. The doctor thanked him and plugged the camcorder into the television the room came with.

"I have recorded a conversation I had with the personality last night," Stein said. "Pay careful attention to the transition from Chrona to the personality and back again." The doctor started the video and the Evans', along with Maka, turned their attention to the screen.

As they watched, Stein showed them where Chrona's eyes changed color, and where her voice deepened to sound male. After several moments, Stein stopped the film so the audience would not hear what Ragnorok had to say about Medusa and the gang. The Evans' did not need to know about that, and neither did Maka. Wordlessly, Stein fast forwarded to the last part.

Ragnorok voice boomed after Stein asked the question, "'So it wasn't Chrona?'"

"'Hell no! That bitch couldn't hurt a fly! She's a twig! It was all me!'" The transition played, showing Ragnorok sinking back into Chrona's subconscious. The video ended and the room was silent.

Maka was wide-eyed and Soul was staring at the blank television. Wes and his father were now staring intently at their feet, but Soul's mother was scowling. Spirit looked decidedly uneasy.

Stein decided to break the ice. "As, you can see—"

"It doesn't matter," Mrs. Evans said sharply. "We will continue with the charges. If that monster can call the personality forward to have you talk to it, then obviously—"

"No, Mom."

All eyes darted to the bed. "What did you say, Soul?"

"I don't wanna press charges," Soul said firmly. "It wasn't Chrona's fault."

"But Soul—"

"It's my decision, isn't it?" the teenager asked. "I was the one who was attacked."

"Yes, but—"

"No, Mom. I don't want to press charges." Mother and son stared each other down. After what seemed like hours, Soul's mother backed off.

"Fine." Soul grinned and Spirit looked relieved. Stein sighed and Maka was sporting a big grin. "We won't press charges. Wes, Harold, let's go." The Evans matriarch swept from the room; her husband and older son followed meekly behind.

"I'm gonna catch hell for that," Soul said with a grin. "Oh well." Maka hugged her friend tightly.

"Thank you, Soul!"

"No . . . problem," the white-haired teenager muttered, gritting his teeth in pain. "It was . . . the cool thing to do."

"Idiot!" Soul laughed and looked at Stein. The doctor's eyes showed thanks, mixed with relief and something else.

"'Sides," the teenager added after a moment, "it'd be uncool to accuse a girl of something she didn't do."

* * *

Two days later, Chrona was on medication and allowed to return home. Stein ended up having to carry his daughter into his and Marie's house. The ride form the hospital to Stein's and Marie's house wasn't long, but the medication the teenager was on made her extremely sleepy. Chrona had been out like a light only minutes after Stein had pulled out of the hospital's parking lot.

Marie opened the house door in front of her husband and let him walk past before shutting it softly. The doctor laid his daughter on her bed and Marie carefully removed the teenager's shoes. The blonde carefully pulled the covers over their charge and tucked the girl in. Stein leaned against the doorframe as his wife smoothed Chrona's hair down and pressed a kiss to her forehead. Marie joined her husband at the door, smiling wistfully. Stein closed the door carefully and the two walked down the hallway.

"Franken," Marie said softly as Stein retrieved the newspaper from the counter. "Spirit said that you had something you needed to tell me."

Stein hid his scowl by opening the paper. That moron. "Did he now?"

His wife nodded. "Yes. He said it was important."

Stein sighed, thankful he had several excuses already thought up. "Well, it's nearing our anniversary. I thought you might want to go out to dinner."

The golden eye that wasn't hidden by an eye-patch lit up. "Oh, I'd love to!"

The silver-haired man smirked as he turned the page of his newspaper. "I thought so."

Inwardly, he sighed. At least Spirit hadn't told her. Stein knew he would have to tell Marie about his past soon . . . just not now.


	18. Chapter 17

**A****/N: **

**SPOILERS FOR CHAPTER 60 AND UP! SPOILERS FOR CHAPTER 60 AND UP! **This includes:

1. New characters

2. Character deaths

3. plot spoilers

**READ AT YOUR OWN RISK! **

Thank you. You may now continue with your reading of chapter 17. :3

Thanks to Desert(dot)Moon for the beta! /heart/

* * *

Chapter 17

A motorcycle roared to a stop in front of Shibusen High School. A lanky teenager rose from behind the driver and dismounted gracefully. His pale face contrasted with his formal-looking clothing: long-sleeved, white shirt worn under a black vest embroidered with gold designs and edged in the same gold as the embroidery. He wore black bellbottoms whose hems also bore the same embroidered designs as his vest; his belt was decorated with similar graphics. He removed his motorcycle helmet and fixed his oiled black hair.

"Well, here you are!" the blonde-haired motorcycle driver said loudly over the machine's engines. "Have fun!"

The teenager scowled as the driver roared off. He hated this mission with a passion. He hated having such a low position that kept him so far away from his master. He couldn't please his master if he was off doing stupid missions for incompetent employees.

The black-haired teenager stalked inside, thinking only how to complete his assignment. If he completed his mission, his master would receive money. His master loved money. Completing this task would please his master. Suddenly, the mission he had received seemed to look a lot nicer to the young man.

A dark-skinned security guard showed the teenager to the officer where he introduced him. A woman with similarly dark skin and braided hair asked him why he was so late. The teenager replied that he had gotten lost. In reality, his driver had had to deal with a matter before they left. The woman smiled and said that, Yes, Death City was a bit disorienting to those first arriving. She handed him his schedule and had the security guard show the teenager to his next class.

The man, who introduced himself as Officer Sid Barret, knocked on the door of the classroom the teenager was supposed to be in. "Excuse me, Marie, but your new student arrived."

The blonde teacher smiled. "Hello there! Welcome to my classroom! Could you please introduce yourself to the class?"

* * *

Maka stared at the new student. He looked troubled, and his lips seemed to stay pursed in a permanent pout. His black hair was slicked back, but several strands had escaped the oil and hung in front of his face. His vest and bellbottoms were embroidered in gold.

Marie-sensei was smiling at this teenager. "Hello there! Welcome to my classroom! Could you please introduce yourself to the class?"

The new boy walked to the front and stood facing the class. "My name is Gopher. Pleasure to meet all of you."

"What kind of name is that?" Soul muttered to Maka. Despite doctor's orders, the white-haired teenager was back at school. His friend shrugged.

"He's so symmetrical!" Kid breathed with awe in his eyes. Gopher's eyes, black with white rings and seemingly no pupils, swept the classroom and settled on Maka. He bit his top lip and his mouth formed a distinct V.

"What the—?" Soul hissed form behind Maka. "Weirdo. Looks like someone doesn't like you, Maka."

"Really?" Maka replied sarcastically. "Hadn't noticed." Gopher took the empty seat behind Kid, who sat next to Maka. Kid immediately turned to engage the new boy in a conversation about the wonders of symmetry.

* * *

Gopher scowled as he trailed Maka to her next class, which _just so happened_ to be his as well. He hated her. She was so perfect; it disgusted him. Why did his master want her? How would she help their new mission from Giriko's new employer?

He hated having to deal with this bitch, but it was to please his master. This mission was to please his master. He would please his master! So the teenager followed the perfect girl into her next class, pouting all the way.

* * *

There was a limo outside Shibusen High School when Soul and Maka left the building at the end of the day.

"Ugh," Soul groaned, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his new jacket. "I cannot believe this—I told them not to—so damn uncool."

"Your parents?" Maka asked.

"Yeah. They've been treating me like a damn piece of china ever since the incident. I just wanna go back to living with Wes at his place, but _noooo_." The teenager rolled his brilliant red eyes.

"Do you have to listen to them?"

"They're my parents, what else am I supposed to do?" Soul scowled. "So uncool."

Maka suddenly stopped walking. "Hey, don't you have detention today?"

Soul shook his head. "Principal Azusa said I'd learnt my lesson 'n let me off." He rubbed his hand ruefully over his chest. "Guess being attacked by a homicidal maniac has its perks."

"You know it wasn't Chrona's fault!" Maka exclaimed. "Ragnorok—"

"I know, Maka," the white-haired teenager said impatiently. "You were there when Stein showed us the video."

The blonde looked at him critically. "Right. . . So, wanna come over? We can do homework together, since I know you need help in Algebra II."

"Sure. . . wait, your psycho dad won't be home will he?"

Maka shook her head. "Nope, he's got a case or something. Said he wouldn't be home till late-ish."

"Cool. I can work with that." Soul gave the limo a one-fingered salute and the two teenagers walked off, not noticing that Gopher was trailing behind them.

* * *

Chrona woke in the near-darkness of her room. She felt funny, her brain fuzzy and sluggish. She shuffled half-consciously to the kitchen. It was empty. That was strange. She slowly made her way down the stairs to the den, taking them one at a time.

Marie was grading papers on the couch and looked up when Chrona finally stumbled over the last step and let out a squeak. "Chrona, you're up! How are you feeling?"

A long pause. It took Chrona several moments for her brain to tell her how exhausted she felt, and several moments more for it to tell her how to formulate that feeling into words. " . . . Tired."

"Oh, you poor thing." Marie stood and gave Chrona a hug. "You slept a long while, can't dream why you'd be tired." The pinkette nodded slowly before sluggishly making her way over to the couch and collapsing on the part that wasn't strewn with papers.

"Where . . . Stein-hakase. . .?"

"Still at the hospital," Marie replied, sitting down after moving some papers. "He's been swamped with work lately." Chrona nodded, leaning over and resting her head on the side of Marie's lap. The teacher smiled as the teenager's slate-grey eyes drifted closed. Marie smoothed the girl's hair before returning to her grading.

* * *

A motorcycle pulled up and idled to a stop next to where a dark-haired teenager was standing under the light of a street lamp. Wordlessly, Gopher climbed onto the back of the seat and the driver roared off.

"Did you find the target?" the driver asked loudly, turning to look at Gopher.

The teenager pulled the helmet over his head and said determinedly, "I will please Noah-sama."

The driver smirked. "Good."


	19. Chapter 18

**A/N: **Gah, this is short. DX Next chapter will be longer, I promise!

Need help for next chapter. While reading this, can you guys think of birthday gifts that SOul, Stein, Marie, Kami, Maka and Spirit can give to Chrona and to each other for Christmas? Post your ideas in the comments for this chapter. Thanks muchly and enjoy!

Also,** thanks so so so so so so so so SO much to Desert(dot)Moon aka Kit for betaing chapters 15-18 all at once. **OMG I love her and you guys should go and give her some love too!

ENJOY!

* * *

Chapter 18

Stein frowned as he watched Chrona struggle through a work problem. Two weeks had passed since the incident at the school, and his daughter was still on heavy sedatives meant to control Ragnorok. However, it was obvious that the drugs were taking a toll on her, both physically and mentally. Chrona now slept most of the day, and when awake she seemed to be in a stupor. Even the simplest question took minutes to get a formulated response. The medicine the doctor was required by law to give to his daughter was turning her into a living zombie.

Stein sighed after several more minutes of watching his child struggle. "That's enough, Chrona."

From beside his daughter, Maka frowned and said, "But Stein-hakase—"

"Leave him be, Maka," Soul said without looking up from his textbook.

"But—"

"Be quiet, this math is making my head hurt."

"You're head's gonna hurt from more than just Algebra!" Maka snarled.

The silver-haired doctor rubbed the bridge of his nose. Maka had offered to tutor Chrona while she was suspended from school. Soul and his banter with Maka was an added bonus. Marie was out Christmas and grocery shopping, so Stein was forced to deal with the three teenagers. Stein poured himself a fresh cup of coffee and took a large gulp, barely resisting the urge to spike it with a generous amount of vodka.

"Oi, Stein, are you any good with Algebra II?"

The doctor sighed heavily. "What do you need help with, Mister Evans?"

* * *

Marie returned home half an hour later. Stein snuffed out the cigarette he'd been smoking in the ashtray on the patio table when he heard the car door slam. He ambled back into the house just in time to see Maka hit Soul over the head with a textbook.

"Auuugh, friggin' hurts! You're so violent, Makaasgbdjhgiasdg!" The ash blonde removed her textbook from Soul's skull as Marie waltzed through the front door.

"I'm back, everyone!"

"Hi, Marie-sensei!"

"Aah, I thought I saw Soul's bike in the driveway!" Marie smiled. "How are you two?"

"Good," Maka chimed just as Soul groaned out, "In pain." An elbow in the ribs and a pointed look at the bags in Marie's hands from Maka prompted Soul to ask,

"You need help carryin' stuff in, Marie-sensei?"

"Oh, thank you, Soul!" the blonde beamed. "There are things in the trunk of my car. Would you be a dear and bring them in?"

"Sure," the teenager grumbled, sliding off his stool and slinking out the front door.

Marie winked at Maka before she went to hug her husband. They shared a kiss and Marie made a face. "You've been smoking again." Stein shrugged and his wife sighed. In an undertone she asked, "Where's Chrona?"

"Asleep," Stein replied.

"Still?"

He shook his head. "No, she was awake for a little bit, but you know how her medication is affecting her right now."

"It's not good for her," Marie said quietly.

"It's necessary," Stein replied. "Even if it's detrimental to both her health and her grades."

Marie grabbed her husband's shirtfront and dragged him onto the patio, slamming the sliding glass door closed and pushing the man into the wall of the house. "You need to do something, Franken!"

"I can't."

"It's almost Christmas," Marie said, looking at him pleadingly. "I want her to be able to enjoy it, and she can't if she's on those drugs! Ragnorok hasn't made an appearance, and if he does, you can put her back on the drugs. But, Franken, please, do it for Chrona."

Stein sighed and closed his green eyes, resting his head on the house wall. "We'll see." Marie opened her mouth to say something, but was cut off by the door sliding open and Maka sticking her head out.

"Marie-sensei, where do you want Soul to put the bags?"

"Oh!" Marie let go of Stein's shirt and hurried inside. "Put them over here, Soul."

Stein pinched the bridge of his nose before pulling out a cigarette and lighting it up.

* * *

"Gopher, report." His master's arms were crossed over his chest, and he was scowling. "Have you completed your mission yet?"

The teenager immediately dropped to one knee and said with his head bent with a mixture of shame and respect, "The girl still cannot be found, Noah-sama."

"So you've failed me?"

"I deeply apologize, master!" Gopher cried. "I will find her! I will find her and bring her to you! I will please you!"

The man named Noah shook his head. "Very well, but please remember every second you make me wait, you make the Vectors wait for vengeance."

"Of course. Yes, sir."

"Good." Noah crossed his legs from where he was sitting on his throne-like chair. "Call Giriko. Tell him I want a full report on Arachnophobia's actions." Gopher nodded and back out of the room going to do his master's bidding.


End file.
